William H Macy is an American actor, screenwriter, teacher, and director raised in Georgia and Maryland. Macy started getting involved in theater during college, where he performed in productions such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Three Penny Opera. He later co-founded the Atlantic Theater Company with writer/director David Mamet. Macy performed in a number of Mamet's best known stage works, and their relationship expanded to films such as House of Games, Wag the Dog, State and Main and Oleanna. He is perhaps best known, however, for his Oscar-nominated role in the 1996 Coen Brothers' film Fargo, and his work on the Showtime series Shameless.