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Dermot Mulroney
Dermot Mulroney Fulfills Lifetime Goal at the Pops
If you ever doubt the impact that exposure to the arts can have on a child, then look no further than Dermot Mulroney. “I’m living proof of it,” he says. “I had parents who took me to the symphony and the museum and passed on a love of culture and arts to me that is still fully enriching my life.
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“There is no way to ignore the benefits and the mind expansion music and other forms of expression bring,” he continues. “I never pictured I’d receive this amount of reward for loving music and the arts. I can’t believe my blessings.”
Those blessings can be attributed directly to an acting career that has spanned more than three decades. While it was his portrayal of “Dirty Steve” Stephens in “Young Guns” in 1988 that put Mulroney in the public eye, his talent — he has more than 100 acting credits that include “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” “About Schmidt,” and “August: Osage County,” — has kept him there.
Though he is known best for his work on television and film, his first love was not acting, but music, making him a perfect choice to serve as a guest conductor for this year’s 33rd Annual Citizens Bank Pops by the Sea.
He picked up the cello at a young age in his hometown of Alexandria, Virginia, studying under Loran Stephenson, a cellist with the National Symphony Orchestra. By the time he was in high school, he was performing in a half-dozen orchestras; he continued to play as a member of the college orchestra at Northwestern University.
After he graduated in 1985, he temporarily put his music career on hold, opting to pursue one that has allowed him to transform into a variety of different characters in front of the camera. As to what he loves about the craft, he says, “it’s those real moments you’re seeking as an actor, when you’re not thinking about the lines or the director or what the scene needs.”
Those moments of truth, he says, represent “the grail you seek on a daily basis.”
While he continues his search for those moments, he has rediscovered his passion for music, initially with his former band The Low & Sweet Orchestra and at present with Cranky George, which includes his brother Kieran, record producers Brad Wood and Sebastian Sheehan Visconti, and James Fearnley of The Pogues.
More notably, he has combined his love of music and film as
a member of composer Michael Giacchino’s trusted orchestra, starting with “Mission: Impossible III,” playing cello on the movie soundtrack. The pair’s relationship has since blossomed with Mulroney tapped to lend his talents on several of Giacchino’s subsequent scores, including “Star Trek: Into Darkness,” “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” and most recently “Incredibles 2.”
When asked about the similarities between acting and playing music, Mulroney says, “you’re constantly seeking to improve yourself,” which is “a great way to think about anything” in life.
On August 12th, Mulroney will take another step towards selfimprovement when he pulls double duty — marking a first for the Pops — serving both as a guest conductor and as a musician.
It will represent a professional highlight in a life filled with them. “To be honest with you, one of my lifetime goals is to conduct in front of a real orchestra,” Mulroney says. “It is a real genuine, pinnacle moment for me as a lifelong classical musician. I always pictured myself doing it, and now it is coming to pass.”
