Where Has Cameron Monaghan Been Since Shameless?

With his striking red hair, Cameron Monaghan caught the attention of modeling agencies and casting directors when he was just a child. He started modeling when he was around 3 years old and acting at around 7. But his Hollywood career began when he was about 10 after landing a role in the made-for-TV movie "The Music Man." From there, Monaghan went on to appear in shows like "Criminal Minds," "The Mentalist," "Malcolm in the Middle," and "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide." He was clearly gaining a lot of momentum as an actor, but his career completely changed when he was cast in "Shameless."

Monaghan played Ian Gallagher in "Shameless" for all of its 11 seasons, from 2011 to the show's conclusion in 2021. Ian struggled with his sexuality early on in the show and experienced bipolar disorder, which meant that Monaghan got to tackle a lot of serious subject matter. He consistently received praise for his performance in "Shameless" and also starred in various other movies and shows during the 2010s. Most notably, he played both Jerome and Jeremiah Valeska in "Gotham," who were the show's version of the iconic villain the Joker. "Shameless" ending in 2021 marked the end of a significant chapter in Monaghan's career, so let's explore what he's been up to since.

Cameron Monaghan voiced and did motion capture work for Jedi Cal Kestis, who is the main character in the "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" video game, which was released in 2019 while he was still starring in "Shameless." Then, in 2023, he played the character again in the sequel, "Star Wars Jedi: Survivor," proving that this role was not just a one-off. These two games were both critically and commercially successful, and both critics and dedicated members of the "Star Wars" fandom have praised Monaghan's performance. For "Star Wars Jedi: Survivor," he was even nominated for best performance at The Game Awards, which is a major honor in the video game industry.

Beyond the several nominations he has received for playing Cal Kestis, being part of the "Star Wars" universe is a dream come true for Monaghan. "It's amazing," he told Entertainment Weekly ahead of the release of "Survivor." "I grew up loving 'Star Wars' as a kid. I mean, I guess everybody did, right? You would go to the movie theaters and talk with friends: 'What do you think they're gonna do next week? Where do you think they're gonna go?' There were always new, exciting facets of this universe being introduced, and now we're getting to see that explored through many forms of media."

It doesn't seem like Cameron Monaghan's involvement in the galaxy far, far away will stop anytime soon. As reported by VGC, he appeared at Ocala Comic Con in September 2023, just a few months after the release of the second game, and said that the team was working on a third. Once again, he will play Cal Kestis.  "That's a big undertaking and there have been some conversations so far, but hopefully when all things are said and done we'll be able to go in and make something really cool," he explained.

Before the release of "Star Wars Jedi: Survivor," Stig Asmussen, director of the first two games, revealed his desire to make a trilogy. Speaking with IGN, he said: "I always wanted to see this as a trilogy. ... We had a pretty decent idea of timeframe where we wanted 'Survivor' to take place, what the stakes were going to be, what the tone of the game was going to be, what Cal was going to be up against, and how the crew was going to factor into that. And there's ideas of what we could do beyond that as well."

Even though Asmussen had ideas for a third "Star Wars Jedi" game, he has since parted ways with Respawn Entertainment, the studio behind the first two. This means it is extremely unlikely he will return to direct the third installment. Despite this, even though there is no confirmed release date and not many details have been revealed about the game, "Star Wars Jedi 3" seems to be in development.

Since both "Star Wars Jedi" games are closely connected to the fictional universe of the movies and shows, many fans have asked for Cameron Monaghan to appear as Cal Kestis in a live-action project. It's rare for popular video game characters to make this leap, so this would be a very unique opportunity for Monaghan. The actor has expressed his interest in such a project, which is unsurprising. But he has also revealed that it would have to make sense for the story and the character, proving that he cares about the "Star Wars" universe and wouldn't just do it for an easy paycheck.

As reported by The Direct, Monaghan talked about potentially playing Cal Kestis in live-action at FanExpo Vancouver 2024. "It would have to be right," he explained. "By that I mean, it has to continue the story or the character in some way. I don't want him to just kind of show up to stand around and be there. I want him to mean something and for there to be a significance for the character itself. So, it would have to make sense. But in the right context then, yeah, absolutely."

Cameron Monaghan has not appeared in any live-action "Star Wars" movies or shows yet, but he has starred in several other films since "Shameless" ended. One of these is "Shattered," a 2022 thriller movie that also stars John Malkovich, Frank Grillo, and Lilly Krug. In the movie, Monaghan plays Chris, a tech millionaire who breaks his leg during an altercation. Afterward, he is tied to his wheelchair by his nurse, who hopes she can steal his money. With just 19% on Rotten Tomatoes, reviews for "Shattered" are not that strong, but Monaghan delivers an intense performance and proves that he has the talent to be a leading man in Hollywood.

Monaghan reflected on his role in "Shattered" in an interview with CBR and explained how he approached playing the lead in such a high-stakes thriller movie. "The most important thing with a movie of this genre is having it feel immediate and having the stakes feel very high," he said. "The way to do that is just being as present as possible as a performer and allowing the performance to be the surrogate audience." Monaghan noted that Chris is "quite literally strapped to a seat and he's going along for this ride," describing his character's arc as physically and psychologically torturous. "It was about really putting myself in the perspective of that character, getting to feel that things were dangerous and frightening, and allowing that vulnerability to really be as open and immediately accessible as possible," he added.

In addition to "Shattered," Cameron Monaghan also starred in 2022's "Paradise Highway." This is yet another thriller film that follows a woman who is forced to smuggle a young girl across state lines to save the life of her brother. In addition to Monaghan (who played FBI Special Agent Finley Sterling), the movie stars Juliette Binoche, Frank Grillo, and Morgan Freeman.

In an interview with The List, Monaghan talked about the dark subject matter in "Paradise Highway." "Human trafficking and child sexual slavery is immensely difficult and heavy," he explained. "Yet for as bleak as that subject matter is, the script was special in that there was a humanity to it. There was a beauty and an interest in these characters as people and putting that human element into the forefront [that] I thought was a really smart decision on her part." Even though Monaghan loved the script, "Paradise Highway" wasn't received well by critics. It has a score of just 14% on Rotten Tomatoes, which further suggests that Monaghan's post-"Shameless" movies have struggled to win over critics.

"Shattered" and "Paradise Highway" may not have been critical hits, but Cameron Monaghan found a winner with "My Love Affair with Marriage," an animated musical comedy movie that was also released in 2022. The film tells the story of Zelma, who struggles with the concept of finding true love as she tries to end up in a lasting, happy marriage. In the film, Monaghan plays Sergei, Zelma's first husband, an alcoholic artist who is very toxic to her.

Monaghan spoke about "My Love Affair with Marriage" and director Signe Baumane's stories in an interview with Glitter Magazine. "They have so much of her voice and authenticity, and they're really just about her life and her experiences with relationships, specifically abusive relationships," he explained. "They're told through this lens ... and slightly surreal and can be very strange, and they just have their own tone to it. It's unlike anything I've ever really seen before." This animated film is indeed a unique cinematic experience and was a hit with critics. "My Love Affair with Marriage" has a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, making it one of the most acclaimed projects of Monaghan's career.

In addition to his acting pursuits, Cameron Monaghan also wrote a screenplay titled "Black Macbeth." The story of this screenplay follows a 20-year-old Orson Welles as he directs a Harlem adaptation of Shakespeare's "Macbeth." Monaghan actually got to play Orson Welles and bring his screenplay to life as he and a group of actors performed 10 pages of "Black Macbeth" at the 2025 Harlem International Film Festival.

"Black Macbeth" ended up winning the top honors for a screenplay at the festival. Monaghan reflected on this win and the experience of performing some of the screenplay live at the festival in an Instagram post. "Was beautiful to hear it performed with talented, committed actors and it was incredibly important to me for a story about the Harlem artist community to begin its journey in the city," he wrote. "Was an honor to be involved." It has not been officially announced whether "Black Macbeth" will be made into a feature film, but Monaghan has expressed an interest in directing and even helmed the 2024 short film "Foxbody," so this seems like a strong possibility.

In 2025, Cameron Monaghan appeared in "Tron: Ares," which is easily the biggest movie of his career. Similar to joining the "Star Wars" universe, appearing in a "Tron" movie seemed to be a dream come true for the actor. In an interview with Collider, he reflected on watching the first "Tron" movie when he was a child. "I remember watching the original, and I thought it was from the '90s or something, because it was pretty amazing how a movie from that era could look that amazing, and utilizing computers the way they did," he recalled.

Just like how the original revolutionized visual effects, Monaghan promised that "Tron: Ares" would push the industry forward ahead of its release. "I think this one, in a very similar way, is going to really push forward what can be done, from a visual perspective," he told Collider. "I would sometimes even come in on days I wasn't working, because that set was really amazing. A lot of the practical sets were pretty phenomenal, and I would love to go look at those as well."

Monaghan clearly loved his experience filming "Tron: Ares," but unfortunately he barely has any screen time in the movie. Shockingly, he actually only has one line of dialogue in the film. Additionally, his character, Caius, wears a helmet that completely covers his face for most of the movie, which has made many fans upset. "I need to know how much was left on the cutting room floor," one X user posted after the release of the movie. "I hate that we lost him but somehow kept Jared Leto," another added. Jared Leto is the controversial star of "Tron: Ares," which has an underwhelming 53% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Several years after "Shameless" ended, Cameron Monaghan will return to television with the upcoming series "Bosch: Start of Watch." The show will serve as a prequel to "Bosch," which starred Titus Welliver as LAPD detective Harry Bosch and ran for seven seasons, from 2014 to 2021. "Start of Watch" will be set in 1991 and see Monaghan portray a 26-year-old version of Harry Bosch when he is just an LAPD rookie. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the logline for "Bosch: Start of Watch" reads: "Amid routine calls and growing unrest, Bosch finds himself drawn into a high-profile heist and a web of criminal corruption that will test his loyalty to the badge and shape his future as the detective who lives by the code, 'Everybody counts or nobody counts.'"

Upon the announcement of the prequel series, MGM+ head Michael Wright expressed his excitement at expanding the "Bosch" universe. "With Cameron Monaghan and Omari Hardwick bringing these complex characters to life, and the creative vision of Michael Connelly and our talented executive producers, 'Bosch: Start of Watch' promises to deliver the gritty, authentic storytelling that honors the franchise's legacy while opening an exciting new chapter," he said, per The Hollywood Reporter.

Monaghan took to Instagram after the prequel was announced to express his excitement for this "new chapter" of his life and career. "This is a great script and can't wait to immerse myself in this project," he wrote. It is currently unclear if MGM+ is aiming for a specific number of seasons for "Bosch: Start of Watch," but there's a strong chance that this show will keep Monaghan busy for the next several years.

Even though Cameron Monaghan has moved onto a new television show with "Bosch: Start of Watch," it's clear he hasn't forgotten his roots. Since "Shameless" was so popular during its original run and continues to find an audience on streaming, it's not surprising that many fans are calling for a revival. John Wells, who developed the American version of "Shameless" and served as a showrunner, even admitted to TV Insider that he "could have made that show for another 15 years." While Wells claimed that there haven't been many serious conversations about a "Shameless" revival, he is definitely open to the idea.

Thankfully, Monaghan seems open to the possibility too. Speaking with Variety in 2022, he revealed he is "absolutely" open to reprising his role as Ian Gallagher at some point in the future. However, he stressed that he believes it's best if some more time goes by before this happens. "It would be really interesting to see Ian and Mickey's relationship in a few years and to see how Ian has changed and grown into himself and to discover what the dynamic is with the people that he loves," he said. "That being said, I want to return to these characters at a different time and context. I want that show to find new things to poke fun and satirize, but it's time to take a break from that character and explore other things."

Monaghan has clearly moved on from "Shameless" and has pursued new opportunities in both film and television, but that doesn't mean he has to say goodbye to the show forever. Based on his comments about a potential revival, perhaps the 2021 series finale won't be the last time we see Monaghan as Ian Gallagher in "Shameless."

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