Shameless

Season 9 M-Net (*101) 22:00 Drama

Shanola Hampton has spent nine long seasons as Veronica Fisher on dramedy Shameless (2011- current) but there is no way that she’s ready to quit just yet. “They’ve been the tackiest, nastiest, cheapest, dirtiest years of my career. There isn’t a show I’d rather be part of,” says the 41-year-old. “My husband looks at me like I’m crazy but I’m on this cast for life. Where else are you living without shame like this? Nowhere!”

Her job has helped Shanola with raising her daughter Cai (4) and son Daren (2) with her husband Daren Dukes. “I’ve learnt tricks to raising kids that I’d never have thought of. People think these characters are shady but they’re actually street-smart geniuses.” Besides both being actors, Shanola and Daren have both featured as character models for videogames. But it’s as difficult as acting, adds Shanola: “They 3D scan you. You read lines and they record your face. It’s like motion capture for an animation movie.” She isn’t a videogamer herself but when she wants a little peace from her hubby, Shanola tells Daren to get a little “him time” with his Xbox. The New York native helped her co-stars with their characters’ bar jobs, having worked as a bartender in college and even while auditioning for her role. She only quit working in a bar after the first season was confirmed. She’s been living the acting dream since she was four, with her first performance being in a talent show. She has a theatre degree as well as her Masters in Fine Arts, admitting, “I didn’t have a back-up plan. It was acting or nothing. So far it’s worked out well.”