Jeremy Allen White’s Breakout Series Had a Weird Rule On Set That Could Give Even Christopher Nolan a Run For His Money
Jeremy Allen White made headlines with his performance in the second season of his culinary drama The Bear. The actor rose to fame with the John Wells’ directed comedy-drama Shameless in 2011. Few filmmakers are known for their strict behavior on the set and John Wells tops the chart along with Christopher Nolan.
John Wells’ strict no-script policy can easily give the Oppenheimer filmmaker a run for his money.
Jeremy Allen White’s Shameless Series Had Tougher Rule Than Christopher Nolan’s No-Chair-Policy On The Set
During an interview with the media outlet Upprox in 2014, actor Emmy Rossum spoke about her show Shameless. The actor revealed that all the cast members along with the guest actors were expected to learn their lines due to John Wells’s strict no-script policy on the set of the comedy-drama. She said-
“Sides [pages of the script being shot on a given day] are not allowed on our set. No actors are given scripts on the day. Everyone shows up learning all their lines, even the guest stars on the day and the day players. So it’s really like you show up for theater and then you work.”
She further shared-
“There’s no bulls***. There are no cell phones on set. There’s no Twitter on set. There are no distractions. Everyone shows up and is a professional, whether you’re 12 years old or you’re 60. It’s really almost like a boot camp. So when I now go onto other sets and when Emma and Ethan go onto other sets, they show up for the table read knowing all their lines. It’s really kind of amazing what that kind of discipline will encourage in you. It also lets you have this freedom with the material, because once you know it, you can let it go and you can feel free to play with it and play in different directions.”
Similarly, Anne Hathaway revealed during her appearance with Hugh Jackman on Variety’s Actors On Actors segment in 2020, that Christopher Nolan does not allow chairs on the set. She said-
“Chris also doesn’t allow chairs. I worked with him twice. He doesn’t allow chairs, and his reasoning is, if you have chairs, people will sit, and if they’re sitting, they’re not working. I mean, he has these incredible movies in terms of scope and ambition and technical prowess and emotion. It always arrives at the end under schedule and under budget. I think he’s onto something with the chair thing.”
In comparison to Christopher Nolan’s no-chair policy, John Wells’s no-script policy is way more difficult for the actors.
Jeremy Allen White On Playing The Character Of Lip In John Wells’ Shameless
During an interview with Variety in December 2023, Jeremy Allen White spoke about one of the most important projects of his life, Shameless. The actor recalled that his audition was taken for the character of Ian Gallagher, which later went to Cameron Monaghan. The Bear star played the role of Lip Gallagher in the comedy-drama, whereas he really wanted to play Ian Gallagher. He said-
I wouldn’t say there’s [a role] that got away. When I was auditioning for Shameless, I was auditioning for both Lip and Ian throughout the auditioning process. I really wanted to play Ian. And then I was told, “No, you’re going to play Lip.”
Jeremy Allen White in Shameless
He further shared
So, I guess that’s the best way to get bad news is like, “No, you’re not going to do this one, but you can do this one.” And then, obviously, I came to really love playing Lip and getting to do it for so long. But yeah, I really chased Ian, and I remember being disappointed when they said, “Actually, it’s this guy.”
The show ran for 11 seasons and revolved around the dysfunctional family of Gallagher.
Shameless can be streamed on Netflix.
