What Happened To Ethan Cutkosky After Shameless?
Ethan Cutkosky is one of the most immediately noticeable fixtures of "Shameless" for the entirety of the Showtime comedy-drama's 11-season run. His Carl Gallagher is very much a troublemaker, but also had one of the more uplifting arcs of the entire show, as he grew from juvenile delinquent to a genuinely good man and police officer. One of only a handful of people to appear in every single one of the show's 134 episodes, Carl became a focal point of many a story, and Cutkosky had plenty of opportunities to prove his mettle as an actor — which he did, many times over.
However, after "Shameless" ended in 2021, Cutkosky hasn't been in the spotlight quite as much as you might expect. Where Jeremy Allen White has become a household name courtesy of "The Bear" and other projects, Cutkosky has kept a relatively low profile.
That doesn't mean he hasn't been working, though. On the contrary, he's been quite busy with a number of projects. Cutkosky once almost left "Shameless" so he could be a regular high school kid, and as his many roles after "Shameless" show, this was an early indication that the actor isn't afraid to make bold choices. Here's what Cutkosky has been up to since "Shameless" ended.
He was in Josh Hope's drama Alex/October
After "Shameless," Ethan Cutkosky took the indie film route, playing a supporting character in director-writer Josh Hope's dark 2022 drama "Alex/October." The movie is about a particularly grim classified ad placed by the troubled Alex (Brad Hunt).
October (Tara Shayne), who has her own share of issues, ends up answering it out of sheer curiosity, and the two forge an unexpected friendship despite their vast differences in age and mentality. Cutkosky plays Josh, October's friend, who has his own set of deep troubles.
Cutkosky was announced to have joined the "Alex/October" cast in 2019, so while the movie came out in 2022, it was already very much in the works during his time on the "Shameless" home stretch. While by no means a blockbuster, the film explores interesting ideas, and viewers have highlighted Cutkosky as the star attraction of the film.
He guest starred on The Conners
ABC's decidedly blue-collar comedy-drama "The Conners" seems like a natural port of call for someone with "Shameless" pedigree." Indeed, in 2022, Ethan Cutkosky guest starred on the show in the Season 5 episode "Parent Traps and Heart Attacks."
He plays Caleb Goldufski, a young disenfranchised relative who's rendered parentless after his father passes away, prompting a Goldufski family crisis over Caleb's fate. The episode is something of a mini "Shameless" reunion, since Emma Kenney (who played Debbie Gallagher) plays Harris Conner-Healy on "The Conners."
Cutkosky told Entertainment Tonight that he enjoyed the opportunity to appear on "The Conners," especially due to the fact that filming the scene happened to coincide with a very special tradition. "[It was very interesting] getting to spend [Emma's] birthday with her, [especially after] having spent over 10 birthdays with each other and half of them have been on set."
He returned to Law & Order: SVU as one of its most evil characters
Ethan Cutkosky first made his "Law & Order: SVU" mark in 2013, when he played the creepy 10-year-old Henry Mesner in the aptly titled Season 14 episode "Born Psychopath." Henry immediately proved himself to be an unrepentant little monster, tormenting his sister Ruby (Maxine Wanderer), and ultimately attempting to kill her and Nick Amaro (Danny Pino).
Eight years later, the worst criminal in "Law & Order: SVU" Season 22 was a familiar face, as Cutkosky's character returned in the episode "Post-Graduate Psychopath." Here, he kills the majority of his family and commits other disgusting deeds of the sort that tend to find their way onto SVU's desk.
In 2026, Cutkosky returned to play Mesner for a third time in the Season 27 episode "Career Psychopath." This time, Mesner himself is securely locked in prison, but an obsessive fan (Kimball Farley) has taken it upon himself to continue his reign of terror. It remains to be seen whether Henry's "SVU" tenure will remain a trilogy, or if Cutkosky is set to make further appearances as the chilling killer.
He starred in and co-produced the dark comedy Going Places
In 2025, Ethan Cutkosky starred in the dark action comedy "Going Places." Writer-director Max Chernov's film is a story about three friends (played by Cutcosky, Chloe East, and Spence Moore II) who end up in the middle of dangerous criminal escapades.
The project was announced in 2021, and with Cutkosky's casting came the news that he was also co-producing the project. This marked Cutkosky's first-ever producing credit.
Speaking with Schön! Magazine, Cutkosky revealed that he was convinced by Chernov's vision, as well as the opportunity he had to be present for pre-production. He also explained his decision to produce. "I've always wanted to create film and be a part of the behind-the-scenes of projects I'm working on," Cutkosky said. "That stemmed from a very young age when I was filming videos with my friends."
He played Adam Sandler's son in Happy Gilmore 2
In 2025, Ethan Cutkosky appeared alongside a major comedy legend when he starred in "Happy Gilmore 2" as one of the titular character's (Adam Sandler) sons, the rebellious Wayne. Sandler's hockey player-turned-golfer has quite an eclectic family in the film, as Cutkosky's onscreen brothers are played by AEW wrestler Maxwell Jacob Friedman and comparative newcomers Conor Sherry and Philip Fine Schneider.
"Happy Gilmore 2" may show that Sandler's Happy hasn't gotten better with age, but at least Cutkosky is in pretty good company across the board. After all, the film also features major names from Steve Buscemi to Ben Stiller — and, of course, Christopher McDonald's return as unscrupulous golfer Scooter McGavin.
Apart from these projects, Cutkosky also appeared in the 2026 film "Our Family Pride," a drama about a middle-aged family man (pleyed by director-writer Glen Evelyn) coming out. All in all, Cutkosky is balancing a nice mix of major projects and smaller indie fare, and it definitely seems that he's kept busy after "Shameless" ended.