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A Conversation with Dermot Mulroney

Published Aug 29, 2022, 7:00 AM

Zooey sits down with her fancyman, Dermot Mulroney to discuss being catcalled at gas stations, figuring out True American, and his work as a cellist. 

Ring Ring Ring Ring. May I please speak with Zoe? Hello, La More, Let's patch and Hannah. God, I forgot what it was like working with you guys. Welcome to our show, Dermot. Thank you so much, Shoe. I'm so how have you been. I've been so busy and so happy and uh and um doing just great. Um. We just had a second to touch base on our families and I'm happy to hear well mine is too, so that's of course the most important thing. Yeah. Absolutely, And here's two you gosh, it's great to see you new show, your podcast that everyone is so crazy about, and it's so extremely you know, it's just fun. It's just fun because like I just missed everybody so much, you know, it's just kind of like how we can just revisit but also be like in business doing it. I love both of those ideas. But I'm so glad that you still operate as a unit, even if it's loose, and so touched that you think to have me on. Oh my gosh, of course we're so happy to have you. Asked about what I was doing now, similar girl, where I was asked to join an already highly acclaimed show. I'm just finishing up an appearance for the film Scream six sou Oh wow, that's fun that and then from there I move on to a little thriller where I play kind of like the bad boss in the back of the pool hall for a couple of days. That's amazing and that's awesome. And I go to Morocco for a showtime show called Beirut, where I play in one of the four episodes. So just just to be starting work on the Morocco is one of my favorite places. So amazing. Have you have you been there? Never have? What kind of experience did you have there? I spent six weeks in Morocco doing a movie like a number of years ago, and I just thought it's just so beautiful and amazing, and I love the food and the people and everything's awesome about it. It's so cool. Which part are you going to I'm not even sure those details, but definitely take a chance. If you have a weekend offer anything, take a chance to just travel around a little bit, because it's really worth it. I share plan on it, and I do. I see already on the schedule stretch of three days, so I'll make the most even three days, even if like you like hit all of the places in Morocco. You can go so many places from there really easily too. You know, Europe's really close to so um, definitely, and just the architect lecture, the like, it just is so cool. You're you're gonna love what what was the project that took you there? I can really see it left impressed, you know, I can see that I was very charmed by just like that was just charmed so much by the culture there. Um. Yeah, I did this movie with Bill Murray called Rock the Kasbah a number of years ago, and it was it was fun and I had tons of time off because I wasn't a big part and they just kept me there for six weeks, so I was just traveling around enjoining Morocco. That was pretty cool. Well, those that so much to our lives. The off camera part of it. What you need to find to do on those days in the States, a state park or a day trip or something that's right areas what we've done that all these years, um, And that's like the flip side of the tail is how you take up your time when you're not shooting on the schedule, but you have to be in in the other place, and exactly, I know. And it's it's interesting. I have so many like memories from places on location. You have such a different experience because you kind of get to live there a little bit, you know, more than just visiting. So it's it's it's great and we just so enjoyed having you um in our myths for you know, quite a bit of season one. You're just such an amazing um addition to our cast. So tell us, like, how did how did this all come about? Because I remember them saying, you know, we have this character coming up called fancy Man. Still have to but I still fringe when I hear that part. I mean, I know I get it, but I really, I mean, I have no regrets, but fancy Man. Therefore, and because it's so funny, it is funny, really stuck people. You really remember Fancy Man. It bounces people say like, oh, hey, fancy Man, I'm not kidding yet. That a lot. Well, it had of course it re emerged as a binging favorite. Yeah, so there was just an upswing of people shouting Russell at me as they're driving out of the gas station. Yeah, well it always feels good. Listen, you were so um such a great uh. I mean it was such a great get, you know, for us. And I remember them saying like, um Dermott Mulroney, uh is interested. And I was like, oh my god, if we could get him, that would be absolutely amazing. And I don't know if you remember this. We did like a it was like a play reading or some kind of a table read many years ago. I don't remember what it was, but I remember you were there and you told me you played cello, right, yes, yes, I still do. And I did that. I know you're you're a professional cello player, which a lot of people probably don't realize. You're like amazing. I mean it's like it's not like, oh, yeah, he just dabbles in cello. Like no, he's like a world class cello player. Check it out, you can. The proof is out there. Um. But I remember you saying that and then I was like, huh, let's see. And I was like, oh, no, this guy is a real cello player aside from being an amazing actor. So what was that table read? Because I don't remember what the table read was, Well, I can ask you what, by any chance was Brooks Shields there? Did she also play? Did I play team. Um, I think you know who I do think was there who I didn't really get to talk to, but I think David Swimmer was there. Uh. You know what's so, I think I think to let people in on this thing of being an actor that you're NonStop asked to do table reads for people so they can hear their script out loud. And sometimes you get ask and it's not somebody you know, like in fact a lot of times, and you know, and it could be a real uh Russian Roulette kind of situation because you might be I've been terrible in these table reads before and be like, well, now I will never work with any of those people. But yeah, but what I found as you walk into these rooms and it's it's the most amazing cast and he doesn't even have the you know, the actors of the same Uh. Yes, I've been there, but are sometimes as a table reading because it's so good and they have all the people who are there. Well. Also sometimes they ask you really like last minute and you're like, oh gosh, that sounds fun. Let me let me like clear my schedule, and then you get there and you're like, oh my god, like I'm cold reading this thing in front of like all these incredible people. I had big bosses. But anyway, I don't remember exactly what it was. I just remember you were there, and I remember the room, and I think David Swimmer was there. But that could have been another I could be like blending other table reads together, of course, and um, yeah, you and I we blend in so you know, blend flowers. You asked a question adjacent to what I'd like to ask you. Maybe you could confirm this, yes, okay, starting with UM. Was one of the writers of the first season named Dana Fox. Dana Fox is a producer, a new girl. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, she's amazing. That doesn't always mean that's the person that you work within the room and etcetera. But I can tell you this, Yes, tell me how I got that role. You know, I didn't audition or anything. So I was so touched and I knew about the show already, which wasn't always the case with new shows. Yeah, so it had already made its mark, and it's your first handful of episodes. Um. Dana Fox wrote the wedding date. Dana Fox is an amazing writer. She is an amazing writer. She wasn't in our I only said producer because she wasn't in our writer's room. That's what I mean. If she was one of the originators and then they're not always that you know, Yeah, yeah she was. She was. She was like, um, just an amazing like just voice and like just such a wonderful person and fantastic. So she was like if I've ever met it was twenty odd years ago before before New Girl and not sense. So this is me reporting back to Dana Fox that I know that the conversation went this way as their writing. Fancy man, they wrote it everybody, we'll talk about why that part's so funny, but they were talking about it. I think the conversation went like this, maybe with Liz Merryweather saying we should get someone um like a dermottmulroney type to play the role, and the Fox is credited with saying, why don't we just get Dermot mulroney and then perfect yes and then like my version of is it like five days later, I'm on your um on our set kick comedy Chaos World on that was just unforgettable. Uh and there is fun, but I don't know who's about like not being on that show and then visiting this to see the process and now, yeah, what was it like that all of these had to do with what jokes were being pitched over the wall? And uh, it was kind of like this incredibly dialed in free for all and then such a great way of putting it dermot because it was like so much chaos, but so many like talented people all in one place, you know, so so noticeable when I stepped on that. Maybe there was a table read for that. Even there was, which I recall, but on the stage in particular in the group, but of course my part was mostly dialed in with you and with Jake, so um, I just knew I was working with really staggeringly talent comedic people. But you also just dives into something that we touched on before about making your unfortune maybe you touched on because really that's so admirable too, that you had some say in, you know, in a position other than just being the actor of of of designing the tone and the fielding the type of comedy, because you really were going at it just a slightly different angle that would captivated everybody, you know, from going from that real boxed in signfeld, Um, what's the other popular one thing had a bunch of people that go to a coffee shop. There was a great actor of season tens that's me. It's called Friends. But you guys broke all that and did just as funny material. Um but thank you. You know, open camera shooting and outside and stuff like that. So well, you know, it's it's interesting, like so much of it. Yeah, I think so much of it's about the process and like how you know, um, how you you get to those moments and like my favorite experiences working on movies because I hadn't done that much TV up to doing New Girl. I barely done any TV just a little bit. I did Weeds and um like Frasier and a couple of Veronica's closet, like a couple of things, um actually with the Friends people, um but um. But I loved like working on movies, like having the opportunity to like you know, do the script and then improvise on the script and then like have like writers like like you know, in in real time, like giving all to all those kind of like many different avenue channels to getting the good stuff. And I know, I I see that you've been doing Righteous Gemstones. Yes, I was on their first season. And David Gordon Green one of my favorite directors ever to work with, and and he was the first director I worked with that would just do. We would rehearse and you'd just go okay, and now just keep going, and we would just like improvise and we'd write it down and then you know, before you know what, like we'd have like like these new pages that were like, you know, kind of influenced by our our rehearsals, and and then we get to improvise on set and also stick to the script. Like title check that one. What movie you're talking about, David Green? All the Real Girls was this movie that I'd did with David Gordon Green. It's a it's a drama, but sorry, it's skipped out of my mind. Oh yeah, but I was thinking about me and Undertow him right now. Oh yes, Undertow is such a good movie. Yeah. So so he's just the one to punch with, like Zoe Dermott and then I worked with I did um also Your Highness with them, which totally different kind of tone. Um yeah, but anyway, I just like love his process, and so you know, it was actually the way Jake kasten Or, who directed our pilot in a bunch of episodes in the first season, and he continued to be one of our executive producers. But um, that's kind of how he likes to work too, And it's just it's nice because there's a lot of different avenues to getting the like kind of loose open fun. Yeah, this for me was that specific formula of thinking you were going in and you had your lines and they'd go in that order, and you do it, you can do it again, and then maybe a third take so you get it really good and then like all hell break contilers say that again, said that, you know, literally adults being he you know, Salvos coming over the set at you that you got it was so fun and so so fun dial up or head in one direction and and like be you'd be doing like you know, like story editing even on the fly, which well, you know what we're eventually going to get to true Americans anyway, but I mean it's like the true American of comedy sets. But um, because he never really there was like a really strong, super vague idea of how that game was actually works, and you know, how it was shot, how it was choreographed all of that. Watching you work through that was amazing and my ended of course it was like basically being told which stool to stand on. Well, I mean it was good times, Like we just it's funny. We actually this morning recapped the episode where you're playing True American with us and your exchanges with Max S. Greenfield where he's making fun of you or some and then Jake is Jake slash Nick is like like obsessed with you and wants to show you his notebook that those exchanges are some of my favorite. Like this really sort of encompasses like what I really enjoy watching on the show, like myself as just a person watching it, you know, I'm like, oh, it's funny when those guys just you know, left me completely undone, you know, that was losing it all along. I drive home going, oh what what happened? Well, well, at one point Max completely um was laughing so hard and you can see it in the thin whustle when he talks to Union you something like and he's so funny, and you're so funny because you're so confused? Why so competitive? Why why is that character so funny? I mean, I'll take some credit, sure, but take that off and Max and Shake two and you got the scene where you're trying to scare me away or impress me. You're jumping on the couch my thinking about how you Oh yeah, you know that one in a long time. So nuts. I love I that was some of my I mean, I had so much fun doing all this stuff. You know, Um, there's something to the character, maybe the aide span, maybe the good you know time before. I don't know, could we still make that? We could because you know what I mean, your grounds since when we did this romance place differently, SA placed differently on screen right right right years for all the reasons. But I think it's part. I mean, I think like our I think like the show has been resonating because it has like a little you know, it's still you know, it's it's it's interesting to me because I'm like, oh, this show that we like started in twelve was like a totally different time in a way, like like and yet we um it's still like for some reason is like resonating. I mean there are a lot of like kids that are really loving it. Yeah, yeah, exactly. But so I want to bring up one thing Troup that caught it, so they'd be watching their age, but they're ten years younger than you, exactly their age at a different time. But you're we're not that age anymore, right, people the age of the show at least and wants it to do it again and again and again. This show will I hope. So, I mean it was. It's nice that it's it keeps finding like new audience. Welcole. Okay, I have something to bring up just while I think of it, okay, and that is that we because we loved you so much on the show that we brought. You know, you came back a lot. You know, you're one of our favorite favorite guest stars, and you came back in our final season and I believe or maybe it was our second to lot, it was final season, right, both both seasons. Was I think I had one episode in the second season and then your final seventh season and I reappeared. So there was one point where you're wrestling with Jake Johnson and Jake broke his hand. Do you remember this? I do remember this, and I I was like, wow, that is like full commitment, Like you guys were like full commitment, like a lot of people don't realize like how much actors like will commit to moments like like you both were like going for that wrestling moment right now. It was a very confusing day. Um, I had not been on New Girl for all those years, so yeah, I brought in. Yeah, I mean a lot, a lot happened in that moment. Obviously, I've deconstructed Jake and I really uh parted friends, and I've seen him at times since, and yeah, absolutely, but it was a situation that in hindsight, you know, didn't have to happen, where one of the two guys doing that, And it was because I was going hard first, but that's what I would have done, I mean safely and stunt wise, and so it was a total accident, like it was. There was sitcom rules though that I wasn't really following, where it's not that necessary to be that physical. So then we we got into a zone that was that was different and more physical because I approached it that way. Jake was trying to have me not do that. The script sayesn't have his heart his hand under my arm, and so so I'm going for what's written down and so forth. In right right, right, then there's director, camera angles. It was a super confusing day. I was there because I and I remember it like, um that that it was a super confusing day and it was like late. I think it was like the last thing we did. But anyway, at that moment he was fine, He's fine. But I've had so few or zero injuries on set, so this one really stands out. And I've really given a lot of thought. Um, so I know not to have that happen again. Um right, yeah, it was. It was. It was troubling just because of course he got hurt. I didn't know he was like a broken hand that day, but I knew he was hurt. Well, I think he was like he was getting very stoic about it. Right right right back between hit between my back in the wall. So I'm being thrown against right, he got his hand around me. Right, it was just an accident. Just sideways and sit straight back, there's room for the hand, et cetera. There's just those little things you can think, well, don't I don't want you to feel bad. I wasn't trying to bring it up because but it was just like I found to be an interesting behind the scenes thing for you know that people might not know, and Jake was also being extremely uh stoic, like he was not he was, he was being kind of stoic, so you kind of couldn't tell that he was actually moment. No, it wasn't like someone had been hurt. And then no, I didn't. I couldn't tell, like I just he just seemed a little bit cranky, like crankier than normal. You know. That's yeah, that's because he was probably an intense pain and didn't wanna be you know. You know, we try to try and shake it off like you would in a sport, you know, and get back on the market. So yeah, it's been you know, some people know of it. It's been discussed and asked about. So I'm glad that we could assust it like this and fill in some blanks. But you know, all all note to producers, stunt coordinators, actors, be really clear on like what that what you're aiming for in that scene. Else it said, hey here a new Girls season seven we signed. We kind of pull our punches and just wrest a little bit, all right, Well, you know what you stuntmen themselves. I mean, then there's two human beings. I've never seen this. Maybe there's a reason. Um, but I know in real life what I saw. I was there on the set to witness this, which isn't always the case because they don't need you because you do so um. And it was like like a real a real elbow banger, you know what I mean, So into the coverage of that, and uh, and I was you know, I didn't get good signals from that. Um. You know, well, I noticed one thing that they do on sets a lot, and it's actually like I think bad, Um, no, it is bad that that a lot of times you're like, and I understand why it's done. But they'll they'll have stunts and like regular shooting to do on the same day, and you know, usually stunts as a combination of this. You have to stunt people doing the most intense stuff, and then you have the actors like filling in, like doing what they can, and then you know, anything really dangerous, you have stunt doubles four. But they normally are like, well, we want to get the meat of the acting first, you know, like we the acting is most important, so like let's leave that, you know, have that first, and then they leave the stunts at the end of the day. And then you that's what I've Actually, that's when you see you know, people get can get injured, um, when stunts get pushed at the end of the day because people are everybody's tired, and then it's like that kind of compounds and that's their performance. Same things happened to actors for forgetting their lines late in the day and and less less precise when you're tired and stuff. So no producers, you know, I know our hours the way they ought to have been long, but you guys have been working people to a dangerous degree, especially in network television all those years doing twenty one hour episodes. I'm glad everybody got so rich in all and there was what they called residuals back there and all that, but I don't think people got really looked after. I think a lot of ship went down on the sets, and I think people get exhausted season after season. That's when people started getting hurt and stuff like that. And that was on New Girl because I only joined for those two. At the end, we were tired, like are pretty tired at first, like I would say, like our first three seasons, but we'd also have like longest days. Like It's funny because they talk about. I'll always hear people talk about like, oh, well worked, they should be like an eight hour day, And I'm like, that's so funny because like on a film set, and I've pretty much been my main job other than music, like my entire life, um, since I was a teenager, is like working on film sets and I'm like, a twelve hour day feel short. I'm like, oh, we're done. I know, okay. Like I remember my first day on a set ever when I was a kid. Basically it was fourteen hours, and I was like, oh, this feels normal. That feels like fourteen hours feels like normal to me. Six scenes a bit much. You know, it happens less. I think, at least in my experience. Maybe I'm at a different age and they don't grind the old guy down the way they used to when we were kids. But hopefully sets are safer all around for all reasons, and something like that might not happen. It might not happen again. I know it was. I if an actor is if an actor is there for twelve hours, then the crew has been there like fourteen you know, that's that's always the thing because actors, well ladies come in two hours pre call because of hair makeup and stuff like that, but because I mean, well, you gotta take care of number one. Um, you gotta do that, you gotta I do. Actually, side note, I do remember you did not have any gray hairs, and they put they took a silver sharp This was my idea, by the way, and I'm sorry for this. I go they were like, oh, they're like they want him to have gray hair, but like he has brown hair, and I got yeah, and I go, why don't you just use a silver sharpie? And that's what they did. There's about three metas on this one. Is that I'm seriously driving up Silver Lake Bullhood to get home in time to get on the zoom with you thinking I wonder if the silver sharpies are going to come up, and I thought, I'm not. I'm not bringing that up. Don't do it. Don't go into that silver sharp piece. So here we are. Um, you brought it up, so it's okay. I didn't see that coming. Um yeah. What would happen, of course, is right before a new girl. UM, I would have done a job where maybe my slightly lighter than you know, chestnut brown hair had been tied to be brown, right, and so it's hard to make someone's hair gray. You can't just die someone's here gray. It does not. It's like, but I remember that moment too, and I have one then on deck if we're really going deep here. Um um, I remember thinking, oh, you know, they wanted my real hair, which would have been beautifully salt and pepper there at that age, at that time. Um so it even happened like at the table read it was like and then maybe even you were involved in just like a backhand and then ultimately, like some department head comes up and says, so um dermot, we were wondering, how do you feel about start showed me a picture of myself. We'd like that one probably comes for the same price, and how do we do it without completely trying to die down, die out or strip or anything, because then it work as me. Okay, here's something that Max and I laughed about a lot because we had to share. Nearing the end of the first season, all the scenes had Russell's estate. One of the other hilarious, most hilarious hilarious scenes is in my office behind the desk, and he's just here too. The reason why I think this part is funny. And it's not a generational thing. It's almost like a subgenerational thing because I'm not that much older than the new in the apartment. No, it's the slightly older guy and like what a doin Ky is right, like the guys that we used to think are cool or just about to grow out of it. I don't know. I think that was part of the time. But his his scene in that office where he smelled the leather hawk feathers and something. Yeah. Um, but it was even during and around those scenes that you know, this is really exposing type of story. I'd usually keep things kind of not so personal, but I had what you call it planters worked the bottom of my foot. I'm discussing this out of humor. I won't tell anybody except all the people listening. I mean, you got a planters war. The hats are in the ring and with Max and Max you've just gotten over whining. You know, everybody's probably out there. Plant are within a you know, or it can be exclusion. So I was slimping for some of new girls couldn't know of my foot where I was having that. That's so painful. I'm sorry, and yeah, thanks, thanks, So you went through that. Well, this is how I read it. Table read final episode, season one, Russell and Jess. You know, I'm luxurious tub it was written that way. I believe that right, Well, I've confirmed it over the years. Frankie told me um through the chain it goes that he's got kind of like a flip thing that you can't put that in the water with, you know, and that's disgusting. But actually this frame advance of that last scene, we're in a double king sized bed for that scene. Now, by the way, I remember this, actually I remember the tub scene. I don't remember the planter's word thing. I have no knowledge of that. But what I do know is that we ran out of time for that. That they were like the whole day, and I was nervous because like being in a bathing suit makes me nervous in general, because like it's just a whole thing. They're like, oh God, like you have to be in a bathing and then you know, you always find out the episode before, which is exactly one week, you know, and you're like, I don't have time to like get in shape now, Like I can't. I can't do all the jazz are size in the world. It's not gonna like get me there and then anyway, so they're like, oh, you have to be in a bathtub, and I was like, oh, you know, oh sorry, maybe they can bleep that out. Oh shoot um and uh. And then and then I remember and I can't remember who was directing that episode, but I remember being there and it was on the schedule until that day, and we were going to shoot it. And then I remember them being like, we're not going to do it. We don't have time. It's a whole thing. And that's why, because we ran out of we ran out of time. But I can knit that little part of your histeater together a little better because there was another issue. Just as just as fast to run a bath and throw the two vectors in there. They were not going to put my left well in there with you, they decided no. But no, it's it's not just as fast because everybody has to get all wet. The whole thing. It's there. It's the hair, the makeup, bubble placement, placement, so much bubble placement, like it's an issue, you know, But yeah, so uh, don't worry. It wasn't your foot. It was my foot disease. And my hair color or you know. Then now they are part of the world. I think that sharpie thing is actually good. That's great trivia. I've got one right here. Silver. Have my hair overdyed? I do you do it? Yeah? And if anybody's not thinking it through, you want to stom capdown. Oh yeah, to make sure they don't dry out right right, so that you don't have to go replace them. They don't have to go to Staples for your hair product. Yeah, So tell me, I want to how's the cello thing going. Are you doing a lot of Hello gigs? No? Not so many gigs. I didn't come out of the studio shut down. I don't know if I'm gonna I hate to say it. Better way to put it is. I sure hope I hear from him soon so I can resume my periodic and occasional um score recording. Yeah. Playing on film scores for ten years probably you know, to three a year. So I've got so many scores where i'd be in solo work. No, no, by real soloists out there. In fact, I can always Uh. There's an IMDb credit on Rogue one, a Star Wars story, that says Hermit solo cello, so I can correct that each time I'm asked if I'm a solo cellist, I'm not. That's someone else. That's a miss. That's a miss type. I was in that orchestra for two weeks straight through job. That's amazing to be able to be a ghost riches almost every frame of that in particular movie has music washing all over. That's Michael Jacquino, who I met on family Stone and played with him for years and years, so I hope that can continue. I am going to play a particular Vivaldi cello duet with Yo yo, ma, wow it is. He doesn't know that yet. You can google it because I mentioned it to a New York post writer and okay, we'll keep it out there until it comes true. That's how that's how I mean to do with that. Is that so at home when I'm home, I played cello. When I'm away, sometimes I travel with a guitar. Oh yeah, in a long time. But I recently added a new instrument that I love playing right now, which is that an octave mandolin. I already played the mandolin ex version of that one whole actave lower, so it's bigger. I've been playing the cello sweets the box sweets on on. It's a similar tuning to a cello. It's tuned in fifth like a cello. So I play it, I transpose it and play it in a different key. Yes, well that's what I I have. I play ukulele, I play baritone, and and then you know, and then then you can just you like, have you know, just a different key without transposing right, same finger exactly yeah, yeah, yeah, extremely lazy. Um, And I'm always well yeah, I know, thank you. Um. I'm always looking for like ways to hack um my um instruments so that I don't need to be like really dextress, you know. I just so I I open tunings. I play around with my own open tunings that are the most efficient for um, lazy people where you feel like putting your fingers. Yes, the the minor six open tuning is really great for if you are very lazy for for a guitar. Yeah, um so um. So did you have a band with your brothers? Maybe? Is that true? Yeah? I have one brother I play play with um the violin violin player. Yes, so we always combined with James Fernley of the Popes, who was the accordion player. Yeah, I was in a band called The Low and Sweet Orchestra. Interscope signed us like back in when they had like amazing deals. UM had made a beautiful album that's hard to find because it kind of fell in between the digital crack there right right right, it's still only on a CD. I think, UM, the Low and Sweet Orchestra really cool. Yeah, acoustic, amazing pre I love that. UM, what would they be called the I can't think of the name of the band, but you know, like hard acoustic music. And then UM in the late teens with Cranky George Us front three and Sebastian Chin and Brad Wood on bass and guitar, and they made a aweso amazing album that's out there. Cranky is the name of it. And had such an awesome music career too, So make sure you check out all. Always tried music to be able to do both and so just just amazing ability to that shines through in your music. UM, and yeah, just keep it coming. I'm going we should do something. Well, we'll do some music together sometime anytime, especially if I don't know what in the back with any other I got it with him, I got jellow ideas, well you we'll talk later. I have chellow ideas. But um, did you play as a kid, did your did your parents have you in uh cello lessons or violin or yes? Very much? So it wasn't really forced on me. I started young out of third and fourth grade, um, and played an orchestra from the very beginning. So I just like saw it away and got good right away. I mean I knew I was good. So it's something I pursued because I had like a little family identity, a little who I was was like that guy, yeah, which really helped. Obviously, It's a cello, so what's not to like even when you're not playing it very well. It's not like a clarinet or violin where you have to get through it sounds hard, and even add to that, it has comfortable. You know, you sit in a very natural position to play some of these instruments. You're like all over the even a R is a huge thing that you're pressing way down the muscle of your arm. Yeah, those are hard instruments. Play cellos just naturally fits on the body. Yeah, so um, and I would have picked up all those other stringed instruments because of that knowledge, um and carded around guitarists to sit in the um and that you know, in the changing room waiting for my call to the set, you know, strumming. Yeah, that's probably it's a great way to pass the time to like, when you're an actor, there's just a lot of downtime, even if you are that dumbass trying to stuff the thing in the overhead compartment and everybody's like another freaking jerk. Even then, UM, I'm just looking your your score work, like as a cellist is very impressive. UM Mission Impossible, three Mission Impossible, Ghost Protocol, Star Trek into Darkness. I mean this is like a couple of star treks at least to a planet. Of the apes that Michael composed and percussion section in that studio room, at half of the room was these drum as you never you know, I mean just incredible. Um and if you see a list you know, but Incredibles Too was one of the last ones I played on horns and so half of the studio is just act with people of all sizes and touches, just blow and horn. Incredible experience is so exciting in the moment that you're there yeah, nothing like being in the middle of an orchestra. It's just that, That's what I'm trying to describe. It's almost impossible. You're watching the ticker, you have a clicker in your ear, you're watching a conductor of course, and you're reading music you've never seen before in your life. Your heart is going, and you're sitting next to the coolest cucumber in the world. In my case, it's got the Yama cellist and accordion player Extraordan Air is my stand partner, and just everybody's looses can be can play anything. I'm with the best players in the state, maybe the country. Well doesn't that make you one of the best players in the by no means in every other city their players, tons of players far better than me. But there's a level of proficiency that I'm more than me. I play beautifully and I can I can play um. But it's very awesome. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Okay. I'm kind of the little bit of a novelty higher in those orchestras where I'm with people that are on levels well above me. I'm in a privileged invite kind of. I think you're being modest, but I appreciate modesty. Okay, but you know what, you're the real deal. Okay. Um, So we're gonna play a game. Actually, we're gonna take a little break, and when we come back from break, we're gonna play a little thing called knicks Box. Welcole. Okay, we're back and we are with Dermott, mulroney, actor, cello player extraordinaire, musician extraordinaire. We have a little segment we do when we are with a guest, and it's called knicks Box. Um like a game, this is It is kind of a game. It's more of a memory thingy Um. We crawl into the back of No No, No, never never. M We crawl into the back of Knicks closet and pull out the memories of the cast and crew of New Girl that they've kept hidden for years and years. Um. Dermott, what's your favorite memory from your time working on New Girl? H It's too hard to so many? Uh, top three, top three? Just like different scenes that are so funny that the ones that I haven't even talked about. There's one where you're in a car. What happens out in the street, something idiotic, de rear end somebody and we're shooting on the side of the studio. That's such a tough question. Maybe it's just discovering on day one that Zoe Deschanel's glasses didn't have any class in them. Well that's a secret. Okay, Well we were giving away some of my secrets. So sorry, okay, Well no, here's why. And a lot of people kept saying it, and I'm like, here's why because I actually wear glasses, but um, I would wear contact lenses to see um, and it would be a whole thing, first of all, to have to then put on glasses with my prescription. And at first we just had glasses with clear glass in them. But then even if you have them coded forum, that's the worst, you know, for you know, light, they earned kind of a weird blue tint and they still reflect light. And I was constantly I remember it was like the first episode and the RDP kept going, so we uh, Chinda, Chinda, schindown, and then I'm like uh, and then I'll be over over and I'd have to be like doing these scenes and then they'd be like, sorry, sorry, we can see the lights reflected in your glass, and I'm like, you know what I thought of this? Thing. And here's how I got the Here's how I got the idea. There's this ridiculous movie called Bowing Bowing Um with Jerry Lewis and Tony Curtis and yes and it um. Tony Curtis is a like a foreign correspondent living in Paris and and they have all these scenes in this in this newspaper, you know, office, um. And I'm watching it and they they're shooting from like outside his office, and there's all this like looks like glass, and then there's people in the background, like and I realized there's no glass at all, no glass, and all the people are just miming stuff in the background, and I'm like, nobody cares if there's freaking glass or not. It's like, and nobody really cares if there's glass in the glass. You really aren't thinking about whether there's glass and the glasses or not. And I don't want to have to as an actor constantly be so self conscious that I'm like having to move my head. So I was like, let's just pop these out and see how it goes. And that's about episode seven. And in Walks Russell, I'm looking after and he's like, why um, that was in your class. But really, to see your question earlier, what washed over me is just I knew when I stepped on that set that you guys were so powerful together and that this thing was working. It was on fire. And those environments I've been in more than my share, but they are elusive, and you don't hit it every time. You guys just were amazing to work with. You brought everything, you made that show better, um, everything that you brought to it and how much you cared and um, and to bring it through that far um into into so entertained so many people. It's incredible to be a part of it. And to play this awesome part that I think, you know, just a really great funny bone way that I still can't quite explain. You're really really great on the show, And thank you so much for being a guest on our podcast. We really appreciate. Everyone's gonna love this episode. Have me back, come back, Yeah, you come back and and uh and we can talk about like the later seasons once we're there. So good to see you. Thank you so much, so much. Great to see you all the best, you too, take care, but you've been listening to Welcome to our show. A New Girl recap podcast. Welcome to Our Show is a production of I Heart Radio, hosted by Zoey Deschanel, Lamour and Morris and Hannah Simone. Our executive producers Joel Monique. Our engineer and editor is Daniel Goodman. The Welcome to Our Show theme song was written by zoe Deschanel, performed and produced by Zoey Deschanel and Pierre de Reader. Follow us on Instagram and Welcome to Our Show pot. If you have a question you'd like us to answer, you can email us at Welcome to Our Show podcast at gmail dot com. Don't forget to rate, subscribe, and share far and wide. Thanks for listening. We'll hear you next week.

The Mess Around with Hannah and Lamorne

Go behind the scenes of Apartment 4D with the crew who called it home for seven incredible seasons.  
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