Rossum, 30, made headlines at the end of last year when she fought to be paid the same as, if not more than, her Shameless co-star William H Macy.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, she describes how the “stalemate negotiation” suddenly resolved once the row became public, and she says while she understood that at the start of the series, Macy was the bigger star, ultimately it didn’t feel right for her to be receiving so much less.

Unlike the UK series, Rossum’s character Fiona Gallagher is a key role in the hit show, but Rossum was reportedly paid less for seven seasons – and is said to have asked to be paid more than Macy, who pays Frank.

“When we started the show, obviously Bill Macy was the green light for the show. It's Bill Macy. He's an Oscar nominee, and I was 22 years old. And then as the show started to really have legs [...] It felt a little bit more weighted in Fiona's direction. And I started to take on a directing hat and take a leadership role. So something that at one time felt OK that it was unbalanced started to feel not as good […]

“But it was difficult for me to say, ‘This is what I think I deserve.’ You do want to be liked.”

The actor goes on to say she waited until her contract ran out and embarked on negotiations, revealing on Twitter in December that should would be reprising her role for the eighth series.

Read the full interview at hollywoodreporter.com

Images: Rex Features

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