Why Dove Cameron’s Shameless Role Was a Game Changer for Her

For those who are unfamiliar with her name, Dove Cameron is an American actress who has appeared in projects that range from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to Liv and Maddie. With that said, it is interesting to note that her first role on the TV screen was not Liv and Maddie but rather Shameless, so it seems probable that said role had some impact on the course of her career since that time.

Who Did Dove Cameron Play on Shameless?

In short, Shameless was a comedy-drama that started broadcasting in 2011 and has continued broadcasting since that time on Showtime, meaning that it is the single longest-running original scripted series that can be found on said TV channel. Some people might have heard of something similar from the United Kingdom. If so, they should know that Shameless was based on a U.K. predecessor of the same name, though it is important to note that the two TV shows have significant differences with one another.

Regardless, Shameless is focused on Frank Gallagher and his six children, who are forced to raise themselves because while Frank has some fondness for them, he is an alcoholic who spends most of his time concocting schemes for the purpose of either cheating the system or cheating other people. As a result, his choices have a huge impact on his children, who are changed in various ways because of them. On the whole, Shameless is interesting in that it treats its subject matter in a more serious manner than most of its counterparts, as shown by the fact that its producers fought the initial idea of setting it in either a trailer park or some place in the South because of their dislike for the comedic tradition for making fun of the people living in said places.

With that said, Cameron played the role of Holly Herkimer, an older girl who was invited to one of the Gallagher children’s birthday parties because of her interest in the second Gallagher child “Lip.” When “Lip” rejected her advances, Holly ran off to become a prostitute, though she made one more appearance in a later season of the TV show.

Why Was This Role So Significant for Dove Cameron?

On the whole, it can’t be said that Cameron’s role on Shameless was particularly important, but considering the timing, it seems probable that it contributed to her lead roles on Liv and Maddie, which were what kicked off her acting career in earnest. After all, Cameron was cast in those lead roles in 2012, which was the same year in which she appeared in both Shameless and The Mentalist. Granted, her character on Shameless isn’t exactly the sort of thing that one would associate with Disney under normal circumstances, but it seems probable that it served to showcase that Cameron could play serious roles. Something that would have helped when she would have been required to play not just an actress who is adjusting to normal life after filming for four years in Hollywood but also her twin sister who stayed behind.

Whatever the case, Liv and Maddie went on for a total of four seasons, which was propelled by a respectable response by the viewers. As a result, Cameron has since gone on to appear in a number of other Disney projects, with examples ranging from the TV movie called Cloud 9 to the fantasy musicals called Descendants and Descendants 2. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that Cameron has popped up in other projects associated with Disney in a more indirect sense as well, as shown by her role on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Based on this, it seems probable that Cameron’s role on Shameless contributed a measure of much-needed credibility to her resume when she needed it at the start of her career. As a result, she was able to secure her lead roles on Liv and Maddie, which in turn, have enabled her to continue working with Disney again and again over the course of her career. In fact, it is interesting to note that Cameron is still working with Disney in the present time, as shown by the fact that Descendants 3 is expected to be released in 2019.

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