‘Shameless’ Star Noel Fisher Talks Leaving The Show & His Character’s Love Interest

Noel Fisher has been on Showtime’s hit Shameless for seven seasons and has finally seen his last episode as Mickey, but the show left room for a return.

NOEL FISHER ON SHAMELESS‘S MICKEY AND IAN

Mickey and Ian’s (Cameron Monaghan) romance was frequent and bumpy throughout the show, and in season seven’s penultimate episode, the romance appeared to end. Mickey, who had been in prison, escaped and headed across the border to Mexico. He wanted Ian to come with him, but at the last second, Ian decided he just couldn’t leave his family, boyfriend, and whole life behind. They fought and shared a kiss before Mickey, dressed as a woman to flee, took off.

“It’s left in a way that doesn’t necessarily have to be the end. Who knows what the future holds,” Fisher told The Hollywood Reporter. “That’s one of the reasons I was really excited to come back and do these episodes: because I think that this is a storyline that culminates in a much more profound way than we’ve gotten to see in terms of the types of goodbyes they’ve had.” The lovers have gone through a lot of ups and downs, but they still love each other. These days the (usually) only way to make sure a character won’t be coming back to a show is to kill him off, so Mickey’s leaving doesn’t necessarily mean the two won’t see each other again.

“I absolutely love playing this character and getting to work with the all the talented people on this show, so I would jump at the opportunity,” Fisher says when asked if Mickey and Ian are meant to be together. “It’s left open, and I don’t think anything would prevent them from living happily ever after if that’s what would be best for the characters.”

When asked if he was satisfied, Fisher replied in the positive. “I am happy with how this episode ended and the storyline there. It’s not what I expected, but that’s the reason that I like Shameless — it doesn’t give you what you expect… Neither of these characters would be who they are without one another. Mickey doesn’t have any kind of regrets when it comes to who he is or how he’s loved or the time that he’s been able to have and spend with Ian. He wouldn’t take it back for anything.”

See a scene from the episode and some on-screen interviews below.