# Gerard Kearns
**Gerard Kearns** (born 1984) is an English actor best known for playing [Ian Gallagher](https://www.edgepedia.org/ian-gallagher) in the [Channel 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/channel-4) comedy-drama *Shameless* and for roles in British television dramas including *The Last Kingdom*, *Chernobyl*, and *The Essex Serpent*, and in films by directors [Ken Loach](https://www.edgepedia.org/ken-loach) and Mike Leigh.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1542551/) • [2](https://www.irishpost.com/entertainment/interview-shameless-gerard-kearns-10330)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1984, Lancashire, England, UK[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1542551/) |
| Breakthrough role | Ian Gallagher in Channel 4's *Shameless*, from series 1 (2004) through series 7[3](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-188178/filmographie/) |
| Best-known film | *Looking for Eric* (2009), Ken Loach's comedy-drama about a football-mad Manchester postman, in which Kearns played the postman's stepson Ryan[2](https://www.irishpost.com/entertainment/interview-shameless-gerard-kearns-10330) |
| Television range | Halig in *The Last Kingdom* (2015–2017), Pravik in *Chernobyl* (2019), Tommy Marshall in *The English Game* (2020), Henry Banks in *The Essex Serpent* (2022), Gary Cobb in *The Day of the Jackal* (2024)[4](https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/the-last-kingdom.pdf) • [5](https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/gerard-kearns/) |
| Stage work | Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, in *The Accrington Pals* and *Much Ado About Nothing*; London debut in *A Thousand Yards* at Southwark Playhouse (2005)[5](https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/gerard-kearns/) • [6](https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/20-questions-with-gerard-kearns_23825/) |
| Representation | United Agents for acting; Qvoice for voice work[5](https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/gerard-kearns/) • [7](https://britainweekly.co.uk/gerard-kearns) |
## Early life and training
Kearns was born in [Lancashire](https://www.edgepedia.org/lancashire), England, in 1984[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1542551/). In interviews he has said he was born at the Royal Oldham Hospital and grew up with strong links to Mossley in [Greater Manchester](https://www.edgepedia.org/greater-manchester)[6](https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/20-questions-with-gerard-kearns_23825/) • [7](https://britainweekly.co.uk/gerard-kearns). He has spoken with pride about his Irish heritage: his grandfather Benny Kearns came from Donnybrook in Dublin to Manchester to look for work, and other members of the family made the same move[2](https://www.irishpost.com/entertainment/interview-shameless-gerard-kearns-10330).
He came to acting through school plays and improvisation rather than a showbusiness family; his parents are both teachers[8](https://ilovemanchester.com/gerard-kearns-exchange-theatre-interview) • [2](https://www.irishpost.com/entertainment/interview-shameless-gerard-kearns-10330). He trained at David Johnson's workshops at Laine Management in Manchester[6](https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/20-questions-with-gerard-kearns_23825/). Before his first major role he worked in a metals factory, a launderette, and washing dishes, and had been through 18 auditions when the one for *Shameless* came up[2](https://www.irishpost.com/entertainment/interview-shameless-gerard-kearns-10330).
## Shameless
*Shameless*, [Paul Abbott](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-abbott)'s comedy-drama set on a Manchester estate, first aired in January 2004 and made Kearns, then a teenager, known to a wide audience as Ian Gallagher of the [Gallagher](https://www.edgepedia.org/gallagher) family[6](https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/20-questions-with-gerard-kearns_23825/). He appeared in the role from series 1 in 2004 through series 7[3](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-188178/filmographie/). He has described the value of the job as working alongside disciplined, experienced cast members such as [Anne-Marie Duff](https://www.edgepedia.org/anne-marie-duff) and Maxine Peake while he was still learning the business[2](https://www.irishpost.com/entertainment/interview-shameless-gerard-kearns-10330).
## Film and television career
Kearns's film work includes *The Mark of Cain* (2007) as Mark "Treacle" Tate, the two *Red Riding* films of 2009 as Leonard Cole, *Honeymooner* (2010) as Fran, *Wasteland* (2012) as Charlie, *Trespass Against Us* (2016) as Lester, and [Mike Leigh](https://www.edgepedia.org/mike-leigh)'s *Peterloo* (2018)[5](https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/gerard-kearns/) • [9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/gerard-kearns). His best-known film role is Ryan, the postman's stepson, in Ken Loach's *[Looking for Eric](https://www.edgepedia.org/looking-for-eric)* (2009), in which the former footballer [Eric Cantona](https://www.edgepedia.org/eric-cantona) appears as himself[2](https://www.irishpost.com/entertainment/interview-shameless-gerard-kearns-10330).
On television he has moved across period and contemporary drama. He played Chas in *Our World War* and Little Al in Sky 1's *The Smoke* (2014), Halig in *The Last Kingdom* (2015–2017), Pravik in *Chernobyl* (2019), Tommy Marshall in Netflix's *The English Game* (2020), and Henry Banks in *The Essex Serpent* (2022)[5](https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/gerard-kearns/) • [3](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-188178/filmographie/). In the BBC's *The Last Kingdom* press materials he described using the role as an opportunity to explore the history of the period and bring it into the character[4](https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/the-last-kingdom.pdf). More recent credits include Gary Cobb in *The Day of the Jackal* (2024), Andy Woodward in the BBC film *Floodlights* (2022), Dan's Dad in *[Waiting for the Out](https://www.edgepedia.org/waiting-for-the-out)* (2026), and DC Jonno Magath in series 29 of *Silent Witness*[5](https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/gerard-kearns/) • [7](https://britainweekly.co.uk/gerard-kearns).
## Stage work
Theatre has run through Kearns's career alongside screen work. His early stage credits include *Borstal Boy* at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2002 and *Hanky Park* at the Lowry, and he made his London stage debut in the world premiere of A N Zakarian's *A Thousand Yards* at Southwark Playhouse in 2005[6](https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/20-questions-with-gerard-kearns_23825/). At Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre he has performed in *The Accrington Pals*, directed by James Dacre, and as Claudio in Maria Aberg's *Much Ado About Nothing*, and he returned to the theater in David Eldridge's two-hander *Beginning*, playing Danny in a play about modern dating[5](https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/gerard-kearns/) • [8](https://ilovemanchester.com/gerard-kearns-exchange-theatre-interview). He has described the Royal Exchange's in-the-round space as leaving an actor nowhere to hide, and has said that what keeps him returning to theater is the immediate response of a live audience[8](https://ilovemanchester.com/gerard-kearns-exchange-theatre-interview) • [6](https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/20-questions-with-gerard-kearns_23825/).
## References
1. [Gerard Kearns, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1542551/)
2. [Interview: Shameless star Gerard Kearns on The Smoke, Manchester & his Irish roots, The Irish Post](https://www.irishpost.com/entertainment/interview-shameless-gerard-kearns-10330)
3. [Gerard Kearns : Filmographie, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-188178/filmographie/)
4. [The Last Kingdom press pack, BBC Media Centre](https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/the-last-kingdom.pdf)
5. [Gerard Kearns, United Agents](https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/gerard-kearns/)
6. [20 Questions With… Gerard Kearns, WhatsOnStage](https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/20-questions-with-gerard-kearns_23825/)
7. [Gerard Kearns: From Shameless Breakthrough to a Powerful Television Career, Britain Weekly](https://britainweekly.co.uk/gerard-kearns)
8. [Mossley actor Gerard Kearns takes us to the Beginning and life beyond Shameless, I Love Manchester](https://ilovemanchester.com/gerard-kearns-exchange-theatre-interview)
9. [Gerard Kearns, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/gerard-kearns)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 2000s onward › Surnames I to K*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license