Finally! A trans character lands on our favorite “Shameless”

We were stoked when Shameless recently introduced their first transgender character — Ian’s new love interest Trevor. The character is aptly played by trans actor Elliot Fletcher, who has already appeared in teen shows The Fosters and Faking It.

Shameless star Emmy Rossum recently opened up about what it means for the show to have a transgendered character and what it’s been like working with Elliot.

“I was really excited, thematically, about what Elliot would mean for Ian. Because even though Ian’s gay, I don’t think there’s a lot of sophistication about the LGBTQIA world in that part of South Side Chicago. Nor do I think there’s necessarily a lot of sophistication about it in anyone who’s older than I am or even my age. For a lot of people, this is still so new and a learning experience. I was super-open to learning the terminology, learning everything that I could about what it means to be transgender, how that feels.”

Emmy has also learned a lot about the trans community from the experience, including the importance of asking questions. She explained to Vulture,

“One of the things I learned, and it mirrors Ian’s experience, is that as long as you’re respectful, a healthy curiosity and an empathy is encouraged and embraced. You can learn so much more than you ever think you could about something if you just ask in a respectful way. I had such a wonderful time getting into the casting process. We’d never cast anyone trans in the show before, so that was a new pool to dip into and one that was important for us to do authentically.”

We absolutely love Elliot and were totally psyched to see him appear on Shameless. We can’t wait to see what the show has in store for him and his character.