From Born Losers To Presidential Ambitions

"In the beginning of my career," begins William H Macy, "I asked, 'How does this speak to the human condition?' In the middle of my career, I asked, 'How much do I get paid?' Now, I ask, 'Do I have to get wet?'"

The 66-year-old has, slowly, become the grand duke of American character actors; his list of credits now vast. Macy's breakout role was in the Coen Bros' beloved 1996 film Fargo (of the TV show, he says "Billy Bob [Thornton] should pay them for that role, getting to chew the scenery like that"). He's since been in Boogie Nights, Magnolia ("my favourite line in that is, 'I really do have love to give! I just don't know where to put it!'"), Jurassic Park III, Seabiscuit, and Room. But, this decade, Macy has become best known as Frank Gallagher, the ornery lead in TV's Shameless.

"For years it was 'dude, I saw you in Fargo!'" Macy says. "Then, believe it or not, there was this TV movie called Door To Door that everyone seemed to see me in. Then, everyone's thing was The Cooler. Then, for a while, I was just 'that guy'. Now, it's just, 'Hey Frank, I'll buy you a beer, man!'"

These days Macy divides his time roughly between Shameless and directing. "These three films have been low-budget indies," he says of his directorial works. "It's pretty rugged for a guy my age." He's recently completed two films: the sex comedy The Layover, starring Alexandra Daddario and Kate Upton, and Krystal, an addiction drama in which Grant Gustin and Rosario Dawson headline and Macy and his wife, Felicity Huffman, support. His 2014 debut was a little-seen curio Rudderless, in which Billy Crudup starts a band to play the songs his recently-deceased son wrote.

"Violence and murder and mayhem are very dramatic, so we will always tell stories about it. But we owe it to society not to glamourise violence, but to tell the truth."

Rudderless featured the late Anton Yelchin, who died recently at just 27. "It's devastating, just devastating," offers Macy, of his death. "So arbitrary. It really just doesn't make sense. A lot of us are still reeling from that. He was a great guy, sweet guy. Wonderful actor. He just loved life, he did the craziest shit. He was an adventurer. We will all miss him a great deal."

Rudderless dealt with the after-effects of gun violence. Macy has publicly spoken out against America's obsession with guns ("if you take 100 people, put them in a room, and give everyone a gun, something bad is bound to happen") both off-screen and on. "I'm not against depicting violence in movies," Macy clarifies, "as long as we tell the truth about it. Violence is a part of our life. And violence and murder and mayhem are very dramatic, so we will always tell stories about it. But we owe it to society not to glamourise violence, but to tell the truth."

Macy's latest big-screen role is in the most violent film of his career: Blood Father. Directed by Jean-Francois Richet - the Frenchman who made the Assault On Precinct 13 remake and the two Mesrine films - it's a bloody neo-Western in which ageing ex-con Mel Gibson tries to save his daughter from a vengeance-seeking Mexican cartel.

"At its core, it's a man trying to clean his life up, to save his daughter. It's High Noon," says Macy. He was drawn to the supporting part ("I would much rather do a small role in a story that's successful, than play a much larger role in a film that doesn't work") due to the film's "brilliantly written script", the opportunity to work with Richard Cabral (who stars alongside Huffman in American Crime), and, indeed, the presence of its leading man.

"I'm a fan of Mel," says Macy. "He's freakin' Mel Gibson, man. It was hot, it was dry, and Mel was really on fire. He looked great with that big, fat beard he had, and he's in great shape. It was one of the first films he had done since his meltdown. So he was focused and deadly serious, but he's still a funny guy. I loved hanging out with him."

Macy - of course - makes the most of his role in Blood Father, befitting his character actor background. With his leading-man TV turn soon to wind up, the veteran awaits all the roles on his horizon.

"Shameless has only got another year, or two or three," Macy says, "and after that, we'll see what comes my way. I'm older now. I'm looking forward to playing not the callow youth, as I started my career, and not the middle-aged born loser who's in way over his head, which I played a lot. I look forward to playing the smart guy, the rich guy, the president, the senator, the wise veteran. I'm looking forward to the roles that're going to come my way."