Carl Gallagher
| Carl Gallagher | |||||||||||||||||
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| Shameless character | |||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by |
Elliott Tittensor (2004 - 2013) Luke Tittensor (2004) | ||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2004—2012, 2013 | ||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 13 January 2004 | ||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 28 May 2013 | ||||||||||||||||
| Created by | Paul Abbott | ||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | George Faber | ||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Police Officer | ||||||||||||||||
| Home | 2 Windsor Gardens | ||||||||||||||||
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Carl Gallagher[1] (born 18 January 1990) is a fictional character from the Channel 4 drama Shameless, he is the fourth oldest Gallagher sibling. The son of Frank and Monica, his brothers are Phillip and Liam; his sisters are Fiona, Debbie, and Stella; his half-brothers are Ian and Nigel; and his half-sister is Delia. Initially he played only a minor role in the show as the sadistic sibling, but since series two has been featured just as much as the other Gallagher children since murdering Lillian Tyler's husband with the gun he found from the shoot-out a few episodes back in the finale.
In the first series, Carl was jointly played by Tittensor's twin brother Luke Tittensor, but since the second series he has played the role alone.
In series 3, Carl briefly worked for the Maguires by growing marijuana for them in his loft, until the police found out about the production. Carl was briefly taken into custody, and gave a statement that the marijuana was grown for the household's own personal use. But after a tip was given to the police about Mandy Maguire selling weed, her mother Mimi suspected that Carl betrayed them and sent her sons Donny and Shane after him. Later, Carl's siblings Lip, Ian and Debbie, figured out that the only person with the motive for informing the police about Mandy's dealings was in fact her brother Shane, who was angry that his mother chose his sister over him to oversee that area of the family business. After Lip confronted Shane over the matter threatening to spill the beans, Shane agreed to call off the family hunt for Carl.
Carl develops a long tally of sexual conquests in the later series, one notable example being the mother of one girl whom he was dating during his last year of secondary school, Carl is the least vindictive of his siblings towards his mother Monica after abandoning him when he was a child and willing to start over with her, though he eventually gets annoyed with her antics as the series progresses.
In series 6, Carl realises Micky Maguire is gay; he is one of the few people on the estate, along with Maxine, his brother Liam and his half-brother Ian, who is aware of this. Micky makes several unsuccessful passes at Carl.
Through series 6 and up to early 7 Carl pursues and begins a relationship with auxiliary nurse Maxine Donnelly. Carl breaks up with Maxine after she admits to having aborted his child and feeling he is too immature to be a father. Carl soon decides he wants another chance with Maxine, and is encouraged when she has sex with him in the Jockey toilets. However, he does not know that Maxine only had sex with him to get her mind off Ian, whom she is beginning to have feelings for. Carl proposes to Maxine, but she turns him down. Carl continues to hope until Micky, out of hurt and jealousy, tells Carl about Maxine and Ian. A heartbroken and enraged Carl meets Ian in The Jockey toilets before savagely beating him. He smashes the engagement ring to pieces and cuts all ties to Maxine and Ian.
Carl begins working for Michelle, the head of a male escort agency that Jamie Maguire briefly worked for; when Jamie no longer wants to have sex with her, an eager Carl is more than capable of taking over the job. Unfortunately this proves to be the one bright spot for Carl around this time. He and Chesney go to a party and afterwards are in the street with a boy named Bonehead, who shows them a video he took of a girl he'd taken advantage of. Her brother, Jimmy, a local tough, viciously attacks Bonehead in front of them, and threatens them into staying silent. When Bonehead dies, Jimmy makes sure they are seen as the prime suspects, and threatens them into fleeing town. Carl and Ches end up on a farm in Wales, but when Carl is able to get reception for his mobile phone, the messages of support from Maxine and his family move him and he and Ches decide to return home. They hide in Chesney's shop but when Jimmy again threatens Carl's family, Carl attacks him. Carl even gets a gun to use on Jimmy, but Joe Pritchard convinces him this would be a mistake. Ultimately, Joe makes Jimmy disappear, Jimmy's sister clears Carl and Ches, and the Maguires convince Jimmy's gang to leave the Gallaghers and Ches alone.
Carl and Ian still have bad blood, with blood literally spilled for Ian as his attempt to tape a confession from Jimmy had ended in a beating. Ian did not accept Carl's apologies for what had happened over Maxine and he drives Maxine away by accusing her of still wanting to be with Carl. Carl visits Maxine at hospital and tells her he knows she was right to have the abortion. He convinces her to give Ian another chance, as he says that he can be her mate, but Ian is her soulmate. Ian and Maxine reconcile, and so do Carl and Ian. As of series 8, Carl is the only original Gallagher child left, after Liam decided to stay with his mum, and Carl seems to have feelings for best mate Chesney's cousin Sita he also had sexual relations with her. Carl also seems to fancy soon-to-be step-mum Libby, when he starts to get visibly erect and grabbing his crotch when he looks at her bum and legs. Carl also matures in series 8 after Liam's departure and develops a brotherly bond, with Patty Crocker's nephew Aidan.
Carl becomes a police officer in series 9 and shortly after leaves Chatsworth to move in with his girlfriend, Clem.
References
- ↑ Abbott, Paul (25 November 2009). "Carl Gallagher Character Profile". Channel 4.