Celebs.comOriginal Interview: Dermot Mulroney('My BestFriend's Wedding,' 'About Schmidt')- Celebs.com 8l29lLI 11:38AM

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SearchNolv Celebs.comOriginal Interview: Dermot Mulroney ('My BestFriend's Weddirg,' oAboutSchmidt')

by The Editoron August27,2011 8:43am

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Dermot Mulroney has beenpart of our film landscapefor more than20 years,with a diverseslate of more than70 creditsthat includesthe Billy-the-Kid "Young Guns," the impactful AIDS drama "Longtime Companion"and the hit rom-com "My Best Friend'sWedding."

Growing up in Alexandria,Virginia, the third of five kids, Mulroney cut his acting chopsat ,and wasrecruited in his senioryear by a William Morris agent.The now M-year-old father of threemoves effortlessly between low-budget indies and big-budgetfeatures, and has someseven films comingout in the next year.

Celebs.com'sJulie Jacobsspokewith Mulroney abouthis newestproject, "The Family Tree," going behind the camera,and working with Julia RobertsandJack Nicholson.

Celebs.com:What is it about acting that draws you in? Dermot Mulroney: It'i like solving a puzzle,making things out of thin air. I love working collaboratively with othercreative people. It's a fantasticjob.

Celebs.com:Your mom is an amateur actress.Did she prompt your interest? Mulroney: I think shedid, tangentially.Even thoughshe didn't alwayspursue acting, she retained a love of the arts.And living right next to DC, we had pretty easyaccess to culture.I went to the theater,the symphony,etc., consistently throughout my upbringingand I was pretty absorbedby it all.

Celebs.com:Your career has been so steady,which is an anomaly in Hollywood. Is fear a factor when it comesto the actorts constant search for whatts next? Mulroney: I've alwaysbeen pretty surethat I'd be able to work again.You don't know whereor when or how much you're going to get paid, but the conceptof this being my lastjob, I neverreally had that as a limitation or worry. But, luckily, even when I've had periodsof unemployment,the releaslssort of time out and fill that gap.

Celebs.com:What do you consider when choosingroles? Mulroney: I think trying to tailor your careerto somekind of quality or tasteis kind of a deadend, because you might miss a goodopportunity. Instead, what I do now, which is what I did when I started,is take most everything.The goodnews is that the things I'm getting,between offers and auditions,are high quality. Even small roles,if they impact the story and there'sa greatdirector attached, are worthwhile. 56heavy Celebs.com:You've worked with some hitters", like and Jack Nicholson.Who would you still like to work with or work with again? Mulroney: Well, thosetwo are terrific examples.Julia and I haveremained and I'd love to work with her anytime.'.AndJack Nicholson,I've only seenonce or twice sincewe did "About Schmidt,,,but obviously I'd do anythingto work with him again.When we did that movie, he was really on his gameand it was amazingto watch him take on a really seriouscharacter in a comedy.

Celebs.com:So, "The Family Tree,tt what was the attraction ? http:/ /www.celebs.com /arch ives/ ce le bs-com-orig inal-interview-derm ot-m ulroney-my-best-frie nds-wedding -about-schmidt. htm I Page2 of 12 Celebs.comOriginal lnterview: Dermot Mulroney('My BestFriend's Wedding,' 'About Schmidt')- Celebs.com 8l29l1I 11:38AM

Mulroney: That it's not a movie you can pigeonholeand that it has a little bit of everything.It bites off a lot: comingof age,rape issues, violence, gun control,Christianity. The list goeson and on. I don't know a whole lot of moviesthat attemptso much.

Celebs.com:How would you describe the metamorphosisof the family in this film? Mulroney: You seethem failing at being a normal family. Then they go throughall theseups and downs and all thesecrises and plot twists to arrive at the authenticversion of what they wishedthey were at the beginning.

Celebs.com:How did you portray Jack Burnett [your character in "The Family Tree"], who doesn't seemto be aware of his own dysfunction? Mulroney: That's what's interestingto me, wherethe challengebecomes how do you portraya zero on screen,a man that's checkedout of life and doesn'thave a whole lot of input and his family is lacking in sensitivityand perception.The director [Vivi Friedman]and I talked a lot abouthow to makesure that gets across,that him doing nothingis part of the story.But how do you portray someonedoing nothingin a way that's interesting?It's ultimatelyup to the audienceto decideif I've done that successfully.

Celebs.com:You've directed, with 2010ts66love, Wedding and Marriage." Was it a good experience and would you go behind the camera again? Mulroney: It was a mixed experience,but I definitely enjoyedthe process,especially shooting the movie, the preproduction,the castingand so forth. And I was thereblow-by-blow from having the financingand then havingit fall through.To say that it was preciselythe movie I thoughtI was going to havethe ability to make wouldn't be genuine.But it was meantto be a light and humorousmovie and it was.I would direct again,knowing a lot betterhow to do it in a way that would be satisfyinglycreative for me.

Celebs.com:Many people may not know that youtre an accomplishedcellist and that you've played on albums [MelissaEtheridge's "Never Enough"] and movie scores["Mission Impossible 3"]. You're even in a band, Cranky George,with one of your brothers. Mulroney: Yeah,I've beenplaying sinceI was seven.I continuedlessons up throughhigh school,and I playedwith the symphonyat Northwesternfor four years.When I cameout to LA, I becamefriends with -a composer-and he's invited me to play a numberof times.In fact, I havea datenext week for "Mission Impossible4." I'm therewith the top playerswho do it every day. There'snothing like being part of an orchestra,with the music on every sideof you. It's really nervewracking, but alsofun and exciting.

Celebs.com:Do you play other instruments? Mulroney: The guitar,the mandolin.I play someinstrument every day in one way or another.Music is a big part of my life.

Celebs.com:And obviously,films are, too. What's the best movie youtve seenrecently? Mulroney: Probably"Bridesmaids." I thoughtit was a scream.

Gallerv

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