Emmy Rossum more comfortable with raunchiness of 'Shameless'

Emmy Rossum is surprised how relaxed she has become with the raunchy, explicit and unabashedly profane side of Showtime hit "Shameless." "You can't imagine ever getting comfortable with that, but you do. What's great about doing that kind of thing on a cable show is that they don't censor you ... they let you show all kinds of things in a raw way; they don't hold you back," she revealed in a video chat with Gold Derby.

Rossum laughed about the regular nudity on the show, recalling, "I didn't realize how comfortable I was with it until they put a male actor with me and he was full frontal nude, and it was so shocking to me that his ... penis was right there! That was just very strange for me, and I realized, that's what people must feel all the time when I as this character am acting out in all of these ways."

Rossum plays Fiona Gallagher, the oldest of six children of a single alcoholic father who helps keep the family together. Rossum defines her character as someone, "who just doesn't give a crap about what anyone thinks. She's fierce, she's raw, and so why shouldn't she be that way about her sexuality too."

"Shameless" has concluded its second season on a ratings high, recently hitting its best ever numbers since its debut early last year and consistently out-rating the now defunct "Luck" on pay cable competitor HBO.

Much of the show's charm is down to its cast, especially leads Rossum and Oscar nominee William H. Macy. "Macy is incredible," raves Rossum. "His method is ... this kind of transformation that happens. In literally the moment between "rolling" and "action" he can be joking around and be seemingly completely sober, and they'll call "action" and it's like he just is (Frank) all of a sudden."

Although many pundits expected "Shameless" to do well at last year's Emmys, the show struck out with voters, apart from a single nod for Joan Cusack in the Drama Guest Actress category. However, many shows don't break through at the Emmys until their second or third seasons, as was the case last year with "Justified," which, after settling for a single technical bid in its first year, sawa four of its cast nominated for its second season with Margo Martindale going on to triumph in the Drama Supporting Actress race.