Dermot Mulroney didn’t have a BFF in any casting departments after starring in 1997 rom-com “My Best Friend’s Wedding.”
Mulroney shared with the New York Times that despite starring in the hit film alongside Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz, he “probably didn’t work for a year” after its release. “My Best Friend’s Wedding” grossed almost $300 million at the global box office against its $35 million budget, and while Mulroney went on to continue his rom-com reign with “The Wedding Date” and more, there was not exactly a slew of immediately available roles with Dermot’s name on them.
“I was sitting there ready for the gift with purchase that was supposed to come along with being in a popular movie, and instead, I probably didn’t work for a year,” Mulroney said. “I chalked it up to me being so tiny on the poster, the little guy on the cake. I thought, gosh, you guys, if you’d made me a little bigger, maybe I could have gotten a job.”
And while Mulroney may have qualms about the “My Best Friend’s Wedding” marketing campaign, he was hand-selected by co-star Roberts for the role after she had a less-than-ideal table read with Russell Crowe, director P.J. Hogan’s first choice for the male lead. Crowe has denied even auditioning, calling Hogan’s account “pure imagination.”
“Would be funny if it wasn’t so pointless,” Crowe said.
Meanwhile, Mulroney recently returned to his rom-com roots with “Anyone but You” in which he played the father of Sydney Sweeney’s character. Mulroney told the New York Times that he gave some advice to the new generation of rom-com actors, Glen Powell, when it comes to just how powerful rom-coms are.
“I didn’t want him to do what I did, which was minimize how important something is that might feel a little light or a little fluff when you’re doing it,” Mulroney said. “‘What these movies mean to people,’ I told Glen, ‘will last for decades.’ It will last until after you’re gone in a way that maybe the other cool stuff he’s doing won’t. It has a different kind of absorption.”
