Emmy Rossum Talks Run-In With Mountain Lion

Looks like Emmy Rossum has a few things in common with the tough-as-nails Fiona Gallagher she plays on Showtime's Shameless.

When the 25-year-old actress, whom you may also recognize from Joel Schumacher's 2004 film adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera, stopped by Chelsea Lately on Wednesday to promote Season 2 of her show — based on the U.K. series of the same name and also starring William H. Macy as Fiona's alcoholic, hedonistic, deadbeat father — she took the time to relay a mishap she'd had with a mountain lion in the backyard in her new L.A. home.

When the fearsome creature jumped Rossum's back fence to sip from her pool, the actress, singer, and New York native had an unusual reaction. "I didn't have the fear instinct," she told host Chelsea Handler. "I had the New-York-outraged instinct. I was like, 'What the hell are you doing? Get off my property!" She finally composed herself, however, and "called animal control." All in all, the incident made Rossum mildly homesick. "We're not in Manhattan anymore," she said.

Shameless returns to Showtime on Sunday, January 8, at 9 p.m. EST. You can catch Chelsea Lately weeknights at 11 p.m. on E! Handler will also be costarring with That 70s Show's Laura Prepon in a new sitcom, Are You There, Chelsea?, which will premiere Wednesday, January 11 at 8:30 p.m. on NBC.

Watch Rossum's interview here:

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