Shameless' Emmy Rossum Almost Played This Major Marvel Character

Emmy Rossum's performance as Fiona Gallagher, the de-facto matriarch of the dysfunctional and neglected Gallagher family on Showtime's "Shameless," was, in many ways, the heart and soul of the series throughout the first nine seasons. Much of the show's drama comes from watching Fiona attempt to balance what's best for her family and what's best for herself, as her selfless attitude often leaves her burned out and miserable.

Throughout the series, Fiona constantly sacrifices her own interests for the sake of her family, and as such, it's almost impossible not to root for her. The likeability of Fiona's character is compounded by the excellent performance of Rossum, who manages to perfectly capture the world-weary anger of somebody who is trying their hardest to make something out of themselves, despite the immense obstacles in front of her. It's especially impressive when you consider that Rossum was initially turned away from even auditioning for "Shameless." 

Rossum stole the spotlight nearly every time she was on-screen in "Shameless," and as such, it's no wonder why she was granted an audition for one of the most important Marvel characters out there.

During an interview on Josh Horowitz's "Happy Sad Confused" podcast (via Twitter), Emmy Rossum revealed that she did actually screen test for the role of Susan Storm in 2015's "Fantastic Four" — and that losing the role was absolutely heartbreaking. "Yes I did not get it ... Devastated, utterly devastated," Rossum explained. "I was pretty sure I didn't get it because I did not feel that the screen-test went well. I just didn't hook into that character at all, like I didn't understand the dialogue, like I couldn't sell it, I was like 'I don't know what to do with my lines, I can't find my in here ...'"

The actor went on to describe how she thinks that the transformations required for those kinds of superhero roles are potentially extremely fun, and accomplishing that unique kind of transformation is part of what attracted her to the role. In the end, Kate Mara ended up playing Susan Storm, and she co-starred in the film alongside Miles Teller (Reed Richards), Michael B. Jordan (Johnny Storm), and Jamie Bell (The Thing). Although Rossum was devastated at the time, she may now be thankful that those dreams didn't pan out. 2015's "Fantastic Four" underperformed at the box office, received a scathing response from both critics and audiences, and, perhaps most damning for a potential superhero franchise, didn't get a sequel. 

In any case, it's certainly interesting to imagine how the film might have turned out had Rossum gotten the part, especially considering how essential Susan Storm is to the Fantastic Four, and the rest of Marvel comics as a whole.