Cameron Riley Monaghan (born August 16, 1993) is an American actor and model. The accolades he has received include nominations for a BAFTA Award and a Critics' Choice Television Award.
Monaghan is known for his role as Ian Gallagher on the Showtime comedy-drama series Shameless and as twins Jerome and Jeremiah Valeska, who serve as origins for the Joker, on the DC Comics-based TV series Gotham. He also portrayed Cal Kestis in the action-adventure game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and its sequel Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Monaghan began his career as a child model at the age of three and as a child actor at the age of seven.
Early life Monaghan was born on August 16, 1993, in Santa Monica, California, the only child of Diane Monaghan, an insurance claims specialist and single mother. He and his mother relocated to Boca Raton, Florida, shortly after his birth. Recognizing that Monaghan was an exceptionally outgoing child, his mother sent his picture to modeling agencies when he was three. He appeared on the cover of his first catalogue at the age of five and appeared in his first regional commercial at seven.
He attended Addison Mizner Elementary School and began to develop his acting skills by appearing in the Little Palm Children's Theatre's productions of Stuart Little, Winnie-the-Pooh, and The Pumpkin King (a theatrical adaptation of The Nightmare Before Christmas), as well as appearing as Alex in the small independent film The Wishing Stone, which was filmed in the Lake Worth, Florida area.
Monaghan moved to the Los Angeles area when he was approximately 10 years old.
Career Early career Monaghan first came to national attention in 2003 for his role as Winthrop Paroo in the ABC television adaptation of The Music Man. When recounting the decision to cast the 9-year-old Monaghan, director and executive producer Jeff Bleckner explained, "There are some people, when you put them up on film, they sort of pop off the screen at you. That's how it was with Cameron. From the second we saw him, he was it. We were looking for anybody who had that wonderful appeal. And Cameron had it."
In 2004, Monaghan began a recurring role as Chad, one of Dewey's classmates on the Fox comedy series Malcolm in the Middle, which earned him the Young Artist Award as Best Young Television Actor in a Recurring Role. The following year, he began a recurring role as Palmer Noid on the Nickelodeon situation comedy Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide. Subsequent guest-starring television roles followed, including appearances on Criminal Minds, Numbers, The Mentalist, Monk, Three Rivers, Fringe, The Glades, and Terriers.
In 2005, Monaghan transitioned to theatrical film roles, appearing as Timmy in the independent western Brothers in Arms. The following year, he appeared as Kevin O'Doyle, the bothersome next-door neighbor in the fantasy comedy Click. A series of subsequent feature film roles followed, including appearances in The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, Dog Gone, Safe Harbor and Another Harvest Moon, as well as portraying the boy detective Bob Andrews in the Three Investigators film series.
Shameless
In April 2010, Monaghan was cast as an ensemble cast member on the Showtime comedy-drama series Shameless. On the series, which premiered in January 2011, Monaghan portrays Ian Gallagher, the gay bipolar teenage son of a large dysfunctional Chicago family. Sarah Hughes of The Independent commended Monaghan's portrayal for providing "one of the more nuanced depictions of a gay teenager to be seen on US TV." Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe described Monaghan's performance as "extraordinary." The gay-interest media outlet AfterElton.com cited Monaghan's portrayal of Ian in naming him to its list of "2011's Break-Out TV Actors". In February 2014, Showtime announced it had renewed the series for a fifth season, scheduled to begin airing in 2015. For his work in the fifth season, Monaghan received a Critic's Choice Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. The seventh season began airing in October 2016. The eighth season, consisting of 12 episodes, went into production in May 2017; it premiered on November 5, 2017. The series was renewed for a ninth season which premiered on September 9, 2018. Monaghan announced via Instagram that he would be leaving the series following the sixth episode of the ninth season. However, Cameron returned for the tenth season which premiered in late 2019.
2011 to present Monaghan appears in a variety of episodic television roles. In 2011, he guest-starred as Nick Peyton, a teenage boy accused of murdering his Marine father, on the CBS crime series NCIS. That same year he appeared as Jonathan McKenna on the TNT mystery series Rizzoli & Isles. In 2012, he guest-starred as Eddie Sandow, a 19-year-old who creates a hostage situation after his father is accused of sexual assault, on the NBC crime series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Monaghan also appears in a variety of feature film roles. In 2011, he co-starred as high school sophomore Corey Doyle in the Disney teen drama Prom. In 2012, he portrayed Jake, the son of an attractive YMCA director in the sports themed comedy 2nd Serve. In 2014, Monaghan starred as Adam McCormick, a small-town high school athlete who becomes consumed by the death of one of his classmates in the independent drama Jamie Marks Is Dead. That same year, he appeared as Mason Ashford, the best friend and romantic interest to Rose in the fantasy adventure film Vampire Academy. He also starred as Asher in the dystopian film The Giver.
From 2015 to 2019, Monaghan was featured as a recurring guest star in all five seasons of Fox's DC Comics-based television series Gotham. He plays the antagonistic twin brothers Jerome and Jeremiah Valeska, who both serve origin stories for the famous Batman villain Joker.
Monaghan plays Cal Kestis, the player character in the 2019 video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and its 2023 sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
In July 2023, it was announced that Monaghan would join the cast of Tron: Ares alongside Jared Leto.
Monaghan will star as a younger version of Michael Connelly's character Harry Bosch in the MGM+ series Bosch: Start of Watch.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2002 The Wishing Stone Alex 2005 Brothers in Arms Timmy 2006 Click Kevin O'Doyle The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause Traffic cop #1 2007 The Three Investigators and the Secret of Skeleton Island Bob Andrews 2008 Dog Gone Dexter 2009 Safe Harbor Larry Parker The Three Investigators and the Secret of Terror Castle Bob Andrews 2010 Another Harvest Moon Jack 2011 Prom Corey Doyle 2012 2nd Serve Jake 2014 The Giver Asher Jamie Marks Is Dead Adam McCormick Mall Jeff Vampire Academy Mason Ashford 2017 Amityville: The Awakening James Walker The Year of Spectacular Men Ross Wyatt 2018 Anthem of a Teenage Prophet Luke Hunter 2019 Reign of the Supermen Kon-El / Superboy (voice)Direct-to-video A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.2021DC Showcase: Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth!Kamandi (voice)Short film; direct-to-video 2022 Shattered Chris Decker Paradise Highway Finley Sterling My Love Affair with Marriage Sergei 2025 Tron: Ares Caius
Television Year Title Role Notes 2003 The Music Man Winthrop Paroo Television film 2004–2005 Malcolm in the Middle Chad 6 episodes 2005 Avatar: The Last Airbender Poi, Ping (voice) Episode: "The Fortuneteller" Threshold Josh Foster Episode: "Blood of the Children" 2005–2006 Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide Palmer Noid 3 episodes 2006 Criminal Minds Jeffrey Charles Episode: "The Boogeyman" 2007 Shorty McShorts' Shorts Andy (voice) Episode: "Flip-Flopped" 2009 Fringe Tyler Carson Episode: "Of Human Action" The Mentalist Elliot Episode: "Blood Brothers" Monk Danny Cooper Episode: "Mr. Monk's Favorite Show" Numbers Todd Episode "Jacked" Safe Harbor Larry Parker Television film Three Rivers Auden Drinkwater Episode: "Place of Life" 2010 The Glades Shane Conners Episode: "Marriage is Murder" Terriers Cody Grice Episode: "Pimp Daddy" 2011 NCIS Nick Peyton Episode: "Out of the Frying Pan" Rizzoli & Isles Jonathan McKenna Episode: "Don't Hate the Player" 2011–2021 Shameless Ian Gallagher Main cast 2012 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Eddie Sandow Episode: "Father's Shadow" 2015–2019 Gotham Jerome and Jeremiah Valeska Recurring role; 20 episodes 2016 Mercy Street Tom Fairfax Main cast 2017 Son of Zorn Jeff Episode: "The Weekend Warrior" 2025 Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy Cal Kestis (voice) 2 episodes
Video games Year Title Role Notes 2019 Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Cal Kestis Voice, motion capture, and likeness 2023 Star Wars Jedi: Survivor TBA Untitled Star Wars Jedi: Survivor sequel
Web series Year Title Role Notes2008James Gunn's PG PornYoung boyEpisode: "Helpful Bus" 2011 Corey & Lucas for the Win! Corey Doyle 6 episodes2020Acting for a CauseFerris BuellerEpisode: "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"
Theatre Year Title Role Notes 2026 Rope Garrett Stern
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result 2004Young Artist Award Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special – Supporting Young Actor The Music Man 2005 Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Television Series – Recurring Young ActorMalcolm in the Middle 2006 Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Television Series – Guest Starring Young ActorNed's Declassified School Survival Guide 2012 Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Television Series – Guest Starring Young Actor 18–21Rizzoli & Isles 2015 Critics' Choice Television Awards Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Shameless 2016 Teen Choice Awards Choice TV: VillainGotham 2019Teen Choice Awards Choice TV: VillainGotham 2020 NAVGTR Awards Performance in a Drama, Lead Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 2023 Golden Joystick Awards Best Lead Performer Star Wars Jedi: Survivor 2023 The Game Awards Best PerformanceStar Wars Jedi: Survivor 2024 British Academy Games Awards Performer in a Leading RoleStar Wars Jedi: Survivor
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