Did You Know Dermot Mulroney Plays Cello For Blockbuster Scores Like Spider-Man: Far From Home?
Dermot Mulroney didn't decide that he wanted to be an actor until he was already partway through college. According to a profile in a 1986 profile in the Washington Post, Mulroney — then an up-and-coming 22-year-old — auditioned for a William Morris agent who just happened to be visiting his college. She was so impressed, she laid a contract in front of him on the spot, and he was on screen in the CBS TV movie "Sin of Innocence" only weeks later. Since then, Mulroney has enjoyed a long and lucrative career in film and TV, appearing in hit films, indie movies, thrillers, horror movies, Christmas movies, and just about anything. Mulroney received a SAG Award nomination for his performance in "August: Osage County" in 2013. He is currently appearing in the Marvel series "Secret Invasion" (as the president) and the Showtime series "Ghosts of Beirut." He also can be seen in the 2023 film "Scream VI" and the acclaimed LeBron James biopic "Shooting Stars."
Prior to acting, however, Mulroney had a separate passion: the cello. The Washington Post also profiled him in 1987 and detailed his cello playing when he was only 10 years old, and how he played in the children's and youth orchestras of Alexandria, Virginia where he was born. He attended arts camps to play cello, and has continued to hone his craft over the years. Indeed, enterprising music collectors might be able to track down the 1996 album "Goodbye to All That" by The Low & Sweet Orchestra. Mulroney played cello alongside his fellow bandmates Kieran Mulroney (his brother), James Fearnley, Mike Martt, Tom Barta, Will Hughes, and Zander Schloss (bassist for the Circle Jerks and Kevin the Nerd from "Repo Man").
Also, he played on the soundtracks for the era's biggest blockbusters.
I dare you, Giacchino
As a cellist, Mulroney also toured with Alanis Morisette, and backed up Melissa Etheridge on her 1992 song "Place Your Hand." He also played backup on Rain Phoenix's EP "Papercranes." As a cellist, the pop music he plays on tends to be moody and emotional; he's not a rocker. Mulroney, despite his fame as an actor, was merely credited in the liner notes; he wasn't featured in music videos.
Additionally, Mulroney has played on the scores for multiple hit films, including some of the biggest blockbusters of the day. In a 2016 profile in the Los Angeles Times, Mulroney talked about his position as the 11th chair of the orchestra that played for "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," a film scored by Michael Giacchino. Indeed, Mulroney has been part of Giacchino's orchestra on several films, including "Mission: Impossible III," "Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol," "Star Trek," "Star Trek Into Darkness," "Spider-Man: Far From Home," and "The Incredibles 2." Talking to the Times, Mulroney said:
"Obviously, I knew about orchestras, I knew how to play in one, I knew about scoring orchestras. But then when I start doing it, it really became a different perspective for me and such a source of pride — but pride related to the fact that I'm included in an exclusive group of musicians ... really just towering talent. I'm more of a journeyman player."
It seems that Mulroney met Giacchino sometime in 2005, and the actor essentially dared the composer to hire him as a cellist. Giacchino took him up on the dare, and now Mulroney, in addition to a lucrative acting career, can be heard playing music in several widely seen action spectaculars.
Mulroney occasionally shows off his cello skills on talk shows.