Emma Kenney: So Young, So Talented

Emma Kenney is the teen actress who portrays Debbie Gallagher on “Shameless.” You might have caught her in “Boardwalk Empire,” when she portrayed Eilis Rohan, the little sister of Kelly Macdonald’s character, Margaret Schroeder Thompson. (We did — that’s why Emma comes up in our Boardwalk Empire scroll — we’re even hoping for a Rohan sister reunion in Season 4).

Now we don’t mean to rave, but it is not often that we see a child actress that you just know is going to have a brilliant career. Her character on Shameless, Debbie, is growing up in a dysfunctional Irish-American family in Chicago. We know that Debbie’s lines are scripted and it’s Emma’s job to deliver them, but this little flame-haired 13-year-old does more than just delivers the lines — she brings a depth and believability to the role that is incredible.

And let’s face it — these Shameless characters are put in some pretty strange situations but Emma works on a closed set, and is not exposed to the seamier scenes.

Emma is not the only incredibly talented youngster on Shameless: there’s also Ethan Cutkosky, who plays her brother Carl. In addition to his role on Shameless, Ethan recently starred as a very disturbed kid on Law & Order: SVU, “Born Psychopath.” He was the 10-year-old kid Henry who was born a psychopath, and — man — he was even giving Dr. Wong the chills as he sat there smiling about his “experiments.” On Shameless, with influences like Frank (William H. Macy) and Grammy Gallagher (Louise Fletcher), you could understand why Carl could grow up seriously twisted, but one of the most touching moments came in the Shameless Season 3 finale, when Carl went to the hospital to shave his father’s head because he thought it would cure him of whatever he has. (Apparently, Frank has cirrhosis of the liver, or is darn close to it but Carl doesn’t know it).

Emma Kenney and Ethan Cutkosky are actually the same age. Emma will be 14 on September 14th and Ethan will be 14 on August 19th.