Dermot Mulroney

Dermot Mulroney
Mulroney in 2018
Born
Dermot Patrick Mulroney

(1963-10-31) October 31, 1963 (age 60)
Alma materNorthwestern University
Occupation(s)Actor, Cellist
Years active1986–present
Spouses
  • (m. 1990; div. 2007)
  • Tharita Cesaroni
    (m. 2008)
Children3

Dermot Patrick Mulroney (born October 31, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in romantic comedy, western, and drama films.

Mulroney is known for his work in various films such as Long Gone (1987), Young Guns (1988), Staying Together (1989), Where the Day Takes You (1992), Point of No Return (1993), The Last Outlaw (1993), Angels in the Outfield (1994), My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), About Schmidt (2002), The Wedding Date (2005), Zodiac (2007), August: Osage County (2013), Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015), and Scream VI (2023).

Mulroney played the main antagonist Francis Gibson in NBC's Crisis (2014), Dr. Walter Wallace in Pure Genius (2016–2017), Sean Pierce in Showtime's Shameless (2015–2017), and Bobby Sheridan in USA's The Purge (2018–2019).

Early life

Mulroney was born in Alexandria, Virginia on Halloween Day in 1963. His father, Michael Mulroney, from Elkader, Iowa, was a law professor at Villanova University School of Law beginning in the 1990s, prior to which he had a private practice in tax law for thirty years in Washington, D.C. His mother, Ellen, originally from Manchester, Iowa, was a regional theater actress. Mulroney is of Irish and German descent, and is the middle child among five siblings. He has two older brothers, Conor and Sean; a younger brother, Kieran Mulroney, who is an actor and screenwriter; and a younger sister, Moira.

Mulroney attended Matthew Maury Elementary School and played cello in school and city youth orchestras, as well as acted in children's community theater. He finished 9th and 10th grades at George Washington High School, before attending T. C. Williams High School (class of 1981) in Alexandria, Virginia. During his sophomore year in high school, he attended the Interlochen Arts Camp as a cellist. Beginning at age 18, Mulroney studied communications at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, and graduated in 1985.

Mulroney has a scar on his upper lip from a childhood accident, about which he explained, "I was 3½ and I was carrying a dish for our pet rabbits. And I tripped and it broke, and I fell on it."

Career

1986–1996

Mulroney at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival

In his senior year in college, Mulroney responded to a sign-up sheet and auditioned in front of WMA agent Barbara Gale, who offered him a contract and asked him to relocate to Hollywood. There, Mulroney auditioned for three months before landing the role of the male lead in his debut in Sin of Innocence. In his first decade acting, Mulroney appeared in a slew of drama films often dealing with heavy subject matter: Sin of Innocence (1986), in which he played a stepbrother romantically involved with his stepsister after their parents marry; Daddy (1987), in which he played the boyfriend in a couple struggling with teenage parenthood; the Lee Grant sibling family drama Staying Together (1989); Unconquered (1989), in which he portrayed the son of Richmond Flowers Sr., an opponent of Alabama Governor George Wallace's segregationist policies; Longtime Companion (1989), in which he portrayed the first HIV/AIDS patient to die of the disease in a widely released film; Where the Day Takes You (1992), in which he plays the leader of a group of teenage runaways trying to survive in the streets of Los Angeles; and supporting roles in the Emmy Award-nominated Family Pictures (1993), which dealt with the struggles of raising a child with autism, and Bastard out of Carolina (1996), which dealt with abuse and molestation.

In 1988, Mulroney appeared in the baseball flick Long Gone, for which he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie at the CableACE Awards. In 1989, he appeared in Survival Quest, during which he met Catherine Keener. While filming, in 1986, Keener was caught in a river current and floated precariously close to whitewater rapids when Mulroney jumped in and the pair were picked up half a mile downstream. The two eventually married in 1990. The couple would go on to appear together in four other films: Living In Oblivion (1995), Heroine of Hell (1996), Box of Moonlight (1996) and Lovely & Amazing (2001). Mulroney's roles in Samantha (1991) and Where The Day Takes You (1992) awarded him Best Actor at the Seattle International Film Festival. In 1993, he wrote the song "Someone Else's Used Guitar" for Peter Bogdanovich's The Thing Called Love, in which he also starred. Mulroney also had a cameo in the Joaquin Phoenix–directed video "Tired of Being Sorry" for Balthazar Getty's band Ringside.

Mulroney appeared in a number of western films throughout this period, namely Young Guns in 1988, Silent Tongue and The Last Outlaw in 1993, and Bad Girls in 1994. The Sam Shepard-directed Silent Tongue would mark the second in a series of four collaborations, with the two previously appearing together on screen in Bright Angel (1990), for which Mulroney won the Jury Special Prize at the Torino International Festival of Young Cinema. Mulroney co-starred in the comedy-drama films: Staying Together (1989); The Thing Called Love (1993), the second of two collaborations with River Phoenix before his death; and There Goes My Baby (1994), originally filmed in 1990. Mulroney appeared in the thriller films Point of No Return in 1993; Copycat in 1995; the Palme d'Or-nominated Kansas City, and The Trigger Effect in 1996. He was nominated for Best Kiss, with Winona Ryder, for How to Make an American Quilt (1996) at the MTV Movie Awards.

1997–present

Mulroney in 2016

Several of his lead performances have been in romantic comedy films. Mulroney has appeared in many films, including as the male lead in My Best Friend's Wedding alongside Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz. In 1993 Mulroney played "J.P", the boyfriend of star "Maggie" (played by Bridget Fonda) in Point of No Return. Mulroney also played the love interest of Madeleine Stowe in the western Bad Girls. In 2005, he played a male escort alongside Debra Messing in The Wedding Date, and co-starred in the ensemble film The Family Stone, with Sarah Jessica Parker. He was also in the film Abduction (2011) as Martin Price.

In 2003, Mulroney played Gavin Mitchell on the TV series Friends. He appeared in three episodes of the ninth season, his character briefly dating Rachel. This would mark Mulroney's last on-screen appearance on television for a number of years, later revealing in a May 2007 interview that he had turned down TV series roles in favor of film. In 2007, Mulroney appeared in the fifth season of The Batman as Green Lantern / Hal Jordan. In 2011, he directed the feature film Love, Wedding, Marriage.

In 2012, Mulroney played the love interest of Zooey Deschanel, Russell, in the Fox series New Girl. In 2013, he played the title starring role in the psychotronic horror film The Rambler, which premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. He also starred alongside Lin Shaye, Angus Sampson, and Stefanie Scott in the 2015 horror sequel Insidious: Chapter 3. He is the narrator of Legends & Lies (2015-2016) executive produced by Bill O'Reilly for Fox News Channel. He also appeared in the hit Showtime series Shameless as Sean, a recovering drug addict who runs a restaurant. In 2023, Mulroney starred in the sixth installment of the Scream franchise and starred in the Marvel Cinematic Universe television series Secret Invasion.

Personal life

Dermot Mulroney in 2018

Mulroney married actress Catherine Keener in 1990 after they met in 1986 when filming Survival Quest. They have a son named Clyde Keener Mulroney (born June 21, 1999) who is a singer. The couple separated in May 2005 and Mulroney filed for divorce on June 11, 2007, citing irreconcilable differences. Their divorce became final on December 19, 2007. He later married Italian Tharita Cesaroni in 2008.[citation needed] They have two daughters, and the family lives in Los Angeles.[citation needed]

Mulroney is an accomplished cellist. In 1996, he was part of a band called the Low and Sweet Orchestra that released an album in 1996, "Goodbye to All That". In 2005 he appeared alongside Boyd Tinsley for Alanis Morissette's show at the House of Blues in Hollywood. He played the cello in the films The Thing Called Love, where he portrayed an aspiring country singer, the 1987 made-for-TV movie Daddy, and Samantha, where he portrayed a college student studying music. He played cello in the song "Place Your Hand" from Melissa Etheridge's 1992 album Never Enough, on the EP for Rain Phoenix's band Papercranes, and on the scores for Mission: Impossible III (2006), Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011), and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013). In 2016 his band, Cranky George, released its debut album Fat Lot of Good. Most recently, he portrayed a cello soloist in the second and third seasons of Mozart in the Jungle.

Mulroney was included in People's Sexiest Men of the Year issue in 2005 as its "Sexiest Jack of Arts".

Filmography

Key
Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1988 Sunset Michael Alperin
Young Guns Dirty Steve Stephens
1989 Staying Together Kit McDermott
Survival Quest Gray Atkinson
Longtime Companion John
1990 Bright Angel George Russell
1991 Career Opportunities Nestor Pyle
Samantha Henry
1992 Where the Day Takes You King
1993 Silent Tongue Reeves McCree
Point of No Return J. P.
The Last Outlaw Frank Wells
The Thing Called Love Kyle Davidson
1994 Bad Girls Josh McCoy
There Goes My Baby Pirate
Angels in the Outfield Mr. Bomman
Scene Six, Take One Wolf Short film
1995 Copycat Reuben Goetz
How to Make an American Quilt Sam
Living in Oblivion Wolf Überman Also associate producer
1996 Kansas City Johnny O'Hara
The Trigger Effect Joe
Box of Moonlight Wick
Bastard Out of Carolina Lyle Parsons
1997 My Best Friend's Wedding Michael O'Neal
1999 Goodbye Lover Jake Dunmore
2000 Trixie Dexter "Dex" Lang
Where the Money Is Wayne MacKay
2001 The Safety of Objects Jim Train
Investigating Sex Edgar Faldo
Lovely & Amazing Kevin McCabe
2002 About Schmidt Randall Hertzel
2004 Undertow John Munn
Hair High Rod Voice
2005 The Wedding Date Nick Mercer
Must Love Dogs Bob Connor
The Family Stone Everett Stone
2006 Griffin & Phoenix Henry Griffin
2007 Dante's Inferno Dante Alighieri Voice
Zodiac Captain Marty Lee
Georgia Rule Dr. Simon Ward
Gracie Bryan Bowen
2008 Jolene Uncle Phil
Burn After Reading Star of "Coming Up Daisy"
Flash of Genius Gil Previck
2009 Kisses Over Babylon Warden Short film
2010 Inhale Paul Stanton
2011 Abduction Martin Price
J. Edgar Colonel Schwarzkopf
The Family Tree Jack Burnett
Love, Wedding, Marriage Director
2012 Struck by Lightning Neal Phillips
The Grey Jerome Talget
Big Miracle Colonel Scott Boyer
Trade of Innocents Alex Becker
2013 Space Warriors Andy Hawkins
Stoker Richard Stoker
The Rambler The Rambler
Jobs Mike Markkula
A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III Doctor
August: Osage County Steve Heidebrecht
2015 Careful What You Wish For Elliott Harper
Truth Lawrence Lanpher
Insidious: Chapter 3 Sean Brenner
The D Train Himself
2016 Dirty Grandpa David Kelly
Lavender Patrick
2017 Sleepless Stanley Rubino
The Christmas Train Tom Langdon
The Mountain Between Us Mark Robertson
2018 I Still See You August Bittner
Cats and Peachtopia Blanket Voice
2019 Sgt. Will Gardner Buddy
The Courier Special Agent Roberts
2020 Hard Luck Love Song Rollo
2021 The Blazing World Tom Winter
Deadly Illusions Tom Morrison
Christmas Is Cancelled Jack Lockhart
2022 Along for the Ride Robert
Gone in the Night Nicholas Barlow
Umma Danny
The Inhabitant Ben
Agent Game Harris
Section Eight Sam Ramsey
2023 Scream VI Detective Wayne Bailey
You're Killing Me Congressman Schroder
Shooting Stars Keith Dambrot
Breakwater Ray Childress
The Dirty South Jeb Roy
THE WARRANT:BREAKER'S LAW DEAD EYE
Ruthless Harry
Anyone but You
2024 Lights Out Sage Parker Post-production
TBA The Gettysburg Address Andrew Gregg Curtin Voice; post-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1986 Sin of Innocence Tim McGary Television film (CBS)
Fame Max Episode: "Losin' It"
CBS Schoolbreak Special Doug Dawson Episode: "The Drug Knot"
1987 Daddy Bobby Television film (ABC)
Long Gone Jamie Weeks Television film (HBO)
1989 Unconquered Richmond Flowers Jr. Television film (CBS)
1992 The Heart of Justice Elliot Burgess Television film (TNT)
1993 Family Pictures Mack Eberlin Television film (ABC)
The Last Outlaw Eustis Television film (HBO)
1996 Heroine of Hell Callum Television film (PBS)
2003 Friends Gavin Mitchell 3 episodes; Season 9
2007–08 The Batman Green Lantern / Hal Jordan (voice) 3 episodes
2008 The Memory Keeper's Daughter Dr. David Henry Television film (Lifetime)
2011 Silent Witness Tony Lord Television film (TNT)
2012–18 New Girl Russell Schiller 8 episodes; Seasons 1, 2 and 7
2012 Saturday Night Live Himself Episode: "Jamie Foxx / Ne-Yo"
2013 Enlightened Jeff Flender 6 episodes; Season 2
2014 Crisis Francis Gibson 13 episodes; Main cast
2015 Extant Taalr (voice) Episode: "Change Scenario"; uncredited
Northpole: Open for Christmas Ian Hanover Television film (Hallmark)
2015–17 Shameless Sean Pierce 23 episodes; Seasons 5, 6 and 8
2015–16 Mozart in the Jungle Andrew Walsh 3 episodes; Seasons 2 and 3
Also contributed to soundtrack
2016–17 Pure Genius Dr. Walter Wallace Main cast, 13 episodes
2016 Soundbreaking Narrator 8 episodes
2017 American Dad! Jesse (voice) Episode: "Julia Rogerts"
American Horror Story: Cult Bob Thompson 3 episodes
The Christmas Train Tom Langdon Television film (Hallmark Hall of Fame)
Also contributed to soundtrack
2018 LA to Vegas Captain Steve Jasser 2 episodes
Kingpin Narrator 4 episodes
Rob Riggle's Ski Master Academy Himself 3 episodes
Homecoming Anthony Main cast, 3 episodes
Into the Dark Henry Tooms Episode: "Flesh & Blood"
Drunk History Georges Ladoux Episode: "Femme Fatales"
2018–19 The Purge Bobby Sheridan Recurring cast (Season 2)
Arrested Development Dusty Radler 7 episodes
Station 19 Greg Tanner Recurring cast, 5 episodes
2019 Four Weddings and a Funeral Bryce Dylan Recurring cast, 6 episodes
The Righteous Gemstones Johnny Seasons Recurring cast, 4 episodes
2020 Messiah President John Young 2 episodes
Prodigal Son Nicholas Endicott 3 episodes; Season 1
The Eric Andre Show Himself Episode: "Lizzo Up"
2020–21 Hanna John Carmichael 16 episodes
2023 Ghosts of Beirut Robert Ames Episode: "Emergence"
Secret Invasion President Ritson Main role, 4 episodes

Awards and nominations

Year Event Category Nominated work Result
1988 CableACE Awards Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie Long Gone Nominated
1990 Torino International Festival of Young Cinema Jury Special Prize Bright Angel Won
1992 Seattle International Film Festival Best Actor Samantha
Where The Day Takes You
Won
1996 MTV Movie Awards Best Kiss (shared with Winona Ryder) How to Make an American Quilt Nominated
2007 Philadelphia Film Festival Artistic Achievement Award Himself Won
2013 Seattle Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble August: Osage County Nominated
2013 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated
2013 Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards Best Ensemble Nominated

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