Cameron Monaghan

Cameron Riley Monaghan (born August 16, 1993) is an American actor and model. He is known for his role as Ian Gallagher on the Showtime comedy-drama series Shameless and as twins Jerome and Jeremiah Valeska, who serve as origins for the Joker, on the DC Comics-based TV series Gotham.[1] He also portrayed Cal Kestis in the action-adventure game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Monaghan began his career as a child model at the age of three and as a child actor at the age of seven.

Cameron Monaghan
Monaghan at a press event in 2014
Born	Cameron Riley Monaghan August 16, 1993 Santa Monica, California, United States
Occupation	Actor model
Years active	2002–present
Website	www.cameronmonaghan.net

Early life

Monaghan was born in Santa Monica, California, the only child of Diane Monaghan, an insurance claims specialist and single mother. He and his mother relocated to Boca Raton, Florida, shortly after his birth. Recognizing that Monaghan was an exceptionally outgoing child, his mother sent his picture to modeling agencies when he was three. He appeared on the cover of his first catalogue at the age of five and appeared in his first regional commercial at seven.[2][3]

He attended Addison Mizner Elementary School and began to develop his acting skills by appearing in the Little Palm Children's Theatre's productions of Stuart Little, Winnie-the-Pooh, and The Pumpkin King (a theatrical adaptation of The Nightmare Before Christmas), as well as appearing as Alex in the small independent film The Wishing Stone, which was filmed in the Lake Worth, Florida area.[2][3]

Career

Early career

Monaghan first came to national attention in 2003 for his role as Winthrop Paroo opposite Kristin Chenoweth and Matthew Broderick in the ABC television adaptation of The Music Man. When recounting the decision to cast the 9-year-old Monaghan, director and executive-producer Jeff Bleckner explained, "There are some people, when you put them up on film, they sort of pop off the screen at you. That's how it was with Cameron. From the second we saw him, he was it. We were looking for anybody who had that wonderful appeal. And Cameron had it."[2]

In 2004, Monaghan began a recurring role as Chad, one of Dewey's classmates on the Fox comedy series Malcolm in the Middle, which earned him the Young Artist Award as Best Young Television Actor in a Recurring Role.[4] The following year, he began a recurring role as Palmer Noid on the Nickelodeon situation comedy Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide. Subsequent guest-starring television roles followed, including appearances on Criminal Minds, Numbers, The Mentalist, Monk, Three Rivers, Fringe, The Glades, and Terriers.[5]

In 2005, Monaghan transitioned to theatrical film roles, appearing as Timmy in the independent western Brothers in Arms. The following year, he appeared as Kevin O'Doyle, the bothersome next-door neighbor to Adam Sandler in the fantasy comedy Click. A series of subsequent feature film roles followed, including appearances in The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, Dog Gone, Safe Harbor and Another Harvest Moon, as well as portraying the boy detective Bob Andrews in the Three Investigators film series.[5]

Shameless

In April 2010, Monaghan was cast as an ensemble cast member on the Showtime comedy-drama series Shameless.[6] On the series, which premiered in January 2011, Monaghan portrays Ian Gallagher, the gay bipolar teenage son of a large dysfunctional Chicago family. Sarah Hughes of The Independent commended Monaghan's portrayal for providing "one of the more nuanced depictions of a gay teenager to be seen on US TV."[7] Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe described Monaghan's performance as "extraordinary."[8] And the gay-interest media outlet AfterElton.com cited Monaghan's portrayal of Ian in naming him to its list of "2011's Break-Out TV Actors".[9] In February 2014, Showtime announced it had renewed the series for a fifth season, scheduled to begin airing in 2015.[10] For his work in the fifth season, Monaghan received a Critic's Choice Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. The seventh season began airing in October 2016. The eighth season, consisting of 12 episodes, went into production in May 2017; it premiered on November 5, 2017. The series was renewed for a ninth season which premiered on September 9, 2018.[11] Monaghan announced via Instagram that he would be leaving the series following the sixth episode of the ninth season.[12] However, Cameron returned for the tenth season which premiered in late 2019.[13]

2011 to present

Monaghan appears in a variety of episodic television roles. In 2011, he guest-starred as Nick Peyton, a teenage boy accused of murdering his Marine father, on the CBS crime series NCIS. That same year he appeared as Jonathan McKenna on the TNT mystery series Rizzoli & Isles. In 2012, he guest-starred as Eddie Sandow, a 19-year-old who creates a hostage situation after his father is accused of sexual assault, on the NBC crime series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.[5]

Monaghan also appears in a variety of feature film roles. In 2011, he co-starred as high school sophomore Corey Doyle in the Disney teen drama Prom. In 2012, he portrayed Jake, the son of an attractive YMCA director in the sports themed comedy 2nd Serve. In 2014, Monaghan starred as Adam McCormick, a small-town high school athlete who becomes consumed by the death of one of his classmates in the independent drama Jamie Marks Is Dead. That same year, he appeared as Mason Ashford, the best friend and romantic interest to Rose in the fantasy adventure film Vampire Academy.[5][14][15] He also starred as Asher in the dystopian movie The Giver, alongside Brenton Thwaites, Odeya Rush, Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep.

From 2015 to 2019, Monaghan was featured as a recurring guest star in all five seasons of Fox's DC Comics-based television series Gotham. He plays the antagonistic twin brothers Jerome and Jeremiah Valeska, who both serve origin stories for the famous Batman villain The Joker.[16]

Monaghan plays Cal Kestis, the player character in the 2019 video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.[17]

Personal life

Monaghan moved to the Los Angeles area when he was approximately 10 years old.[15][18]

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	The Wishing Stone	Alex
2005	Brothers in Arms	Timmy
2005	Desperate Hippies	Zach	Short
2006	Click	Kevin O'Doyle
2006	The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause	Traffic Cop #1
2007	The Three Investigators and the Secret of Skeleton Island	Bob Andrews
2008	Dream Machine	Stanley	Short
2008	Dog Gone	Dexter
2008	Disarmed	Justin	Short
2009	Safe Harbor	Larry Parker
2009	Running	Ryan	Short
2009	The Three Investigators and the Secret of Terror Castle	Bob Andrews
2010	Another Harvest Moon	Jack
2010	Two Boys	Son	Short
2010	Bad Bunny	Jack	Short
2011	Prom	Corey Doyle
2012	2nd Serve	Jake
2014	Jamie Marks Is Dead	Adam McCormick
2014	Vampire Academy	Mason Ashford
2014	The Giver	Asher
2014	Mall	Jeff
2017	The Year of Spectacular Men	Ross
2017	Amityville: The Awakening	James
2018	Anthem of a Teenage Prophet	Luke Hunter
2019	Reign of the Supermen	Kon-El / Superboy	Voice

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2003	The Music Man	Winthrop Paroo	Television film
2005	The Adventures of Tango McNorton: Licensed Hero	Tango McNorton	Short
2004–2005	Malcolm in the Middle	Chad	6 episodes
2005	Threshold	Josh Foster	Episode: "Blood of the Children"
2005	Avatar: The Last Airbender	Poi & Ping (voice)	Episode: "The Fortuneteller"
2005–2006	Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide	Palmer Noid	3 episodes
2006	Criminal Minds	Jeffrey Charles	Episode: "The Boogeyman" (season 2, episode 6)
2007	Shorty McShorts' Shorts	Andy	Episode: "Flip-Flopped"
2009	Numbers	Todd	Episode "Jacked" (season 5, episode 12)
2009	James Gunn's PG Porn	Young Boy 1	Web episode: "Helpful Bus"
2009	The Mentalist	Elliot	Episode: "Blood Brothers" (season 1, episode 22)
2009	Safe Harbor	Larry Parker	Television film
2009	Monk	Danny Cooper	Episode: "Mr. Monk's Favorite Show" (season 8, episode 1)
2009	Three Rivers	Auden Drinkwater	Episode: "Place of Life" (season 1, episode 1)
2009	Fringe	Tyler Carson	Episode: "Of Human Action"
2010	The Glades	Shane Conners	Episode: "Marriage is Murder"
2010	Terriers	Cody Grice	Episode: "Pimp Daddy"
2011–present	Shameless	Ian Gallagher	Main cast
2011	NCIS	Nick Peyton	Episode: "Out of the Frying Pan" (season 8, episode 18)
2011	Rizzoli & Isles	Jonathan McKenna	Episode: "Don't Hate the Player"
2012	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Eddie Sandow	Episode: "Father's Shadow" (season 13, episode 13)
2015–2019	Gotham	Jerome Valeska / Jeremiah Valeska	Recurring role
2016	Mercy Street	Tom Fairfax	Main cast
2017	Son of Zorn	Jeff	Episode: "The Weekend Warrior" (season 1, episode 4)

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2019	Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order	Cal Kestis	Voice, motion capture, and likeness

Web

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2011	Corey & Lucas for the Win!	Corey Doyle	6 episodes

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
2004	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special Supporting Young Actor	The Music Man	Nominated	[19]
2005	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a Television Series Recurring Young Actor	Malcolm in the Middle	Won	[4]
2006	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a Television Series Guest Starring Young Actor	Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide	Nominated	[20]
2012	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a Television Series Guest Starring Young Actor 18-21	Rizzoli & Isles	Nominated	[21]
2015	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	Shameless	Nominated	[22]
2016	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV: Villain	Gotham	Nominated	[23]
2019	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV: Villain	Gotham	Won	[24]

References

1. "Gotham's Cameron Monaghan FINALLY explains why he's not 'The Joker'". Metro. 2018-05-14. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
2. Kernicky, Kathleen (February 15, 2003). "The Music Boy". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
3. Kernicky, Kathleen (December 31, 2003). "Auld Acquaintances - Stardom Beckons". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
4. "26th Annual Young Artist Awards". Young Artist Awards. Archived from the original on March 4, 2008. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
5. "Cameron Monaghan Credits". TV Guide. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
6. Fienberg, Daniel (April 8, 2010). "Showtime makes a 'Shameless' pickup". HitFix. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
7. Hughes, Sarah (January 10, 2011). "Meet the new Gallaghers". The Independent. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
8. Gilbert, Matthew (January 7, 2011). "All of a dysfunctional family". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
9. Reker, Art (December 22, 2011). "The Year In Television: 2011′s Break-Out TV Actors". AfterElton.com. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
10. "Showtime Renews Shameless And House of Lies". Seat42F. February 18, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
11. Andreeva, Nellie (November 8, 2017). "'Shameless' Renewed For Season 9 By Showtime". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
12. Otterson, Joe (October 8, 2018). "'Shameless' Star Cameron Monaghan Announces Series Exit". Variety. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
13. Goldberg, Lesley (January 31, 2019). "Shameless Renewed for Season 10 at Showtime". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 31, 2019. Showtime entertainment co-president Gary Levine announced that Monaghan will indeed return for season 10.
14. Patten, Dominic (May 10, 2013). "'Vampire Academy' Adds 'Blue Bloods' Sami Gayle, 'Shameless' Cameron Monaghan & More To Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
15. Davis, Michele (February 19, 2014). "This is Me: Cameron Monaghan". Zooey Magazine. Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
16. https://collider.com/gotham-joker-cameron-monaghan-video-image/?amp
17. https://comicbook.com/2019/04/13/star-wars-jedi-fallen-order-gotham-cameron-monaghan-cal-kestis/
18. Yehuda, Anna Ben (March 13, 2014). "Q&A: Cameron Monaghan on 'Shameless;' Jamming with Jeff Bridges". Los Angeles Confidential. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
19. "25th Annual Young Artist Awards". Young Artist Awards. Archived from the original on August 8, 2011. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
20. "27th Annual Young Artist Awards". Young Artist Awards. Archived from the original on July 4, 2010. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
21. "33rd Annual Young Artist Awards". Young Artist Awards. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
22. Wade Rouse (May 6, 2015). "HBO and FX Lead 5th Annual Critics' Choice Television Awards Nominations". People Magazine. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
23. Eliahou, Maya (June 9, 2016). "Teen Choice Awards 2016--Captain America: Civil War Leads Second Wave of Nominations". E! Online. NBC Universal. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
24. Moreau, Jordan (19 June 2019). "'Avengers: Endgame,' 'Riverdale,' 'Aladdin' Top 2019 Teen Choice Award Nominations". Variety. Retrieved 19 July 2019.

External links

• Cameron Monaghan at IMDb 
• Cameron Monaghan on Twitter