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Actor

1999-08-19 · St. Charles, Illinois, USA · Male

2 series in the catalog

Ethan Francis Cutkosky (born August 19, 1999) is an American actor and musician. He began as a child actor with his film debut in an uncredited supporting role in Fred Claus (2007) before acting in his first credited role in the supernatural horror film The Unborn (2009).

Cutkosky gained widespread recognition for his main role as Carl Gallagher on all eleven seasons of the Showtime comedy-drama television series Shameless (2011–2021). After Shameless, he starred in the film Alex/October (2022) and had a supporting role in the comedy film Happy Gilmore 2 (2025).

Early life

Ethan Francis Cutkosky was born on August 19, 1999, in Campton Hills, Illinois, the only child of Yvonne Cabrera Cutkosky, a teacher, and David Cutkosky, a computer software engineer. His mother is of Mexican descent. He attended Bell Graham Elementary School in Campton Hills and Thompson Middle School in St. Charles, Illinois. He attended St. Charles East High School in St. Charles.

Career

Cutkosky began appearing in photo ads when he was four years old as a way for his mother and him to spend time together. After being in a few advertisements he was asked to audition for commercials and then in movies. He landed his first film role playing Carl opposite Vince Vaughn in the Christmas comedy Fred Claus (2007), when he was eight years old. At nine, Cutkosky played a mythical spirit named Barto in the supernatural horror film The Unborn (2009), which starred Gary Oldman.

In 2009, Cutkosky was selected to play Carl Gallagher in the Showtime television series Shameless, the second youngest Gallagher sibling and biggest troublemaker. Shameless ran for 11 seasons until 2021, and is the longest running original scripted series in Showtime's history.

Personal life

On November 6, 2017, Cutkosky was arrested for driving under the influence in Los Angeles. He accepted a plea deal and charges were dismissed.