How Cameron Monaghan Brought the Joker to Life in “Gotham”

 

Who is Cameron Monaghan?

He’s a model, and an actor with nearly 60 acting credits to his name, and although Cameron Monaghan rose to fame playing Ian Gallagher in the series “Shameless”, the role which brought him international recognition is his portrayal of Jerome and Jeremiah Valeska, identical twin brothers in the series “Gotham”. These characters are the combinations that brought the audience a supervillain, the Joker.

To learn more about this young actor, his life and his career, and how he brought the Joker to life, continue scrolling down.

Early life, family, and education

Born Cameron Riley Karolowski Monaghan under the zodiac sign of Leo on 16 August 1993, in Santa Monica, California USA, he holds American nationality and comes from a family of English, German, Polish and Irish descent. Raised by his single mother, Diane Monaghan, Cameron spent most of his childhood in Boca Raton, Florida, to where they moved soon after his birth.

Diane recognized her son’s exceptional talents, and when Cameron was aged three, she began sending his photos to modeling agencies. When he was five, Cameron appeared on the cover of his first catalog, and two years later, made his acting debut in a commercial.

When it comes to his educational background, Cameron attended a local high school, developing his acting skills by playing the lead roles in the Little Palm Children’s Theatre. Upon matriculating in 2011, he didn’t go to college but pursued his acting career.

Roles in movies

Cameron made his big-screen debut as Alex in the 2002 movie “The Wishing Stone”, then followed with his role as Winthrop Paroo in the 2003 TV movie “The Music Man”, which brought him his first Young Artist Award nomination for Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries, or Special – Supporting Young Actor.

Two years later, Cameron was cast to play Timmy in “Brothers in Arms”, starring David Carradine, then in the following year, he co-starred with Adam Sandler in the comedy “Click”, followed by his support role as Traffic Cop in “The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause”, also in 2006.

Next, Cameron was cast to play Bob Andrews in the 2007 movie “The Three Investigators and the Secret of Skeleton Island” – this was his first lead role. He starred opposite Nick Price and Chancellor Miller in this adventure mystery about three kid detectives, which won the German Children’s-Film & TV Festival Jury Golden Sparrow award.

Cameron followed with his roles in “Dog Gone” (2008), and the sequel “The Three Investigators and the Secret of Terror Castle” in 2009, before he portrayed Jack in the 2010 drama “Another Harvest Moon”. He was also seen as Corey Doyle in the teenage comedy “Prom” in 2011, before landing another lead role in the 2012 sports comedy “2^nd Serve”, but which was poorly rated by critics and the audience.

Cameron played the main character, Adam McCormick, in the 2014 fantasy mystery “Jamie Marks Is Dead”, followed by his role as Mason in “Vampire Academy” later that year. It seems that this was a good year for Cameron since he was also seen starring in “Mall” and “The Giver”.

Three years later, Cameron starred opposite Madelyn Deutch in the romantic drama “The Year of Spectacular Men”, which followed the story of a young woman who struggles to navigate her post-college life. Later in 2017, Cameron portrayed James in “Amityville: The Awakening”, a thriller horror, also starring Bella Thorne.

Cameron’s first notable movie role came in the 2018 fantasy drama “Anthem of a Teenage Prophet”, which had six award nominations, and the audience rated this movie as a ‘wonderfully told coming of age film’.

In the following year, Cameron was heard as a Superboy in “Reign of the Supermen”, a DC Universe movie that follows the story of several new people who present themselves as successors of Superman after his death. Cameron reprised his voice role as a Superboy in “The Death and Return of Superman” later in 2019. He was also heard as Cal Kestis in “Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order”, which in 2020 brought him a nomination for The National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers (NAVGTR) Award for Outstanding Performance in a Drama, Lead.

Most recently, Cameron was seen starring in the 2022 movies “Shattered”, “Julius Caesar Live!”, and “Paradise Highway” while he voiced Sergei in “My Love Affair with Marriage”.

Roles in series

Cameron made his first television series appearance as Chad in “Malcolm in the Middle”, and although he was seen in less than 10 episodes during 2004 and 2005, he won the Young Artist Award – Best Performance in a Television Series – Recurring Young Actor.

He made guest appearances in “Threshold” (2005) and “Criminal Minds” (2006), concurrently playing Palmer Noid in “Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide” (2005-2006), which brought him a nomination for the Young Artist Award- Best Performance in a Television Series – Guest Starring Young Actor.

In the following years, Cameron guest-starred in “Numb3ers” (2009), “The Glades” (2010), and “NCIS” (2011), among several others, and his guest role as Jonathan McKenna in “Rizzoli & Isles” brought him another Young Artist Award nomination, this time for Best Performance in a TV Series – Guest Starring Young Actor 18-21.

From 2011 to 2021, Cameron was seen as Ian Gallagher in 127 episodes of the series “Shameless”, also starring William H. Macy, Ethan Cutkosky, and Emmy Rossum. The plot revolved around a tough, fiery, fiercely devoted Chicago family who make no apologies. It had 69 award nominations winning 16, including four Primetime Emmys. Cameron was nominated for the Critics’ Choice Television Award- Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

Concurrently, Cameron was cast to play Jerome and Jeremiah Valeska in “Gotham” (2015-2019), making an appearance in 20 episodes of this action crime-drama, also starring Ben McKenzie, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Donal Logue – Cameron said that he didn’t audition for this part, but the producer called and offered him this significant role. He was twice nominated for the Teen Choice Award- Choice TV: Villain in 2016 and ’18, then won this award in 2019.

Jeremiah is a brilliant psychopath obsessed with killing Bruce Wayne, while Jerome is a wild villain who promotes chaos in Gotham City. The showrunners realized that there could have been characters before the Joker, so they decided to create ‘proto-Jokers’. Jerome’s maniacal smile and Jeremiah’s genius mind all mixed with twisted reality, show the audience what preceded the creation of the famous Joker, and Cameron managed to show enviable acting skills playing two characters.

Concurrently with his roles in “Shameless” and “Gotham”, Cameron was seen in “Mercy Street” (2016), “Love Daily” (2018), and “Acting for a Cause” (2020).

Love life and relationships

Like many young actors, Cameron has been the subject of various rumors about his romantic life, however, what we do know is that back in 2015, he dated Sadie Newman, a young British model. From 2016 through 2017, Cameron was in a relationship with Ruby Modine, an American actress.

The relationship which caused the most attention was the one Cameron had with Peyton List, an actress perhaps known best for her role as Emma Ross in the series “Bunk’d”. The two dated from 2017 to 2019, and were one of the most favorite young Hollywood couples.

As of April 2023, Cameron is in a relationship with Lauren Searle, an artist from Los Angeles, California. He hasn’t been married, and despite the rumors, Cameron doesn’t have any children.

Age, height, and net worth

Cameron is 29 years old, and his trademark is his ginger hair and green eyes. He is 5ft 11ins (1.82m) tall and weighs approximately 175lbs (80kgs). Cameron takes care of his body and stays in a shape by doing acrobatics, practicing martial arts, and horseback riding.

If you have wondered how rich this young artist is, according to sources as of early 2023, Cameron has a net worth estimated at over $7 million.