A Conversation with Dermot Mulroney

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. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
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.

(00:31):
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

(00:55):
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.

(01:15):
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

(01:41):
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

(02:04):
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

(02:27):
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.

(02:50):
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

(03:11):
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,

(03:32):
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,

(03:54):
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

(04:14):
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

(04:35):
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,

(04:57):
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

(05:18):
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

(05:38):
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

(05:58):
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

(06:19):
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.

(06:47):
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

(07:07):
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

(07:27):
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

(07:49):
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,

(08:11):
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,

(08:35):
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

(08:55):
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

(09:17):
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

(09:40):
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

(10:01):
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

(10:24):
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

(10:46):
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,

(11:10):
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

(11:32):
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

(11:56):
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

(12:16):
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,

(12:40):
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,

(13:02):
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,

(13:26):
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,

(13:50):
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,

(14:12):
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

(14:33):
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,

(14:57):
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

(15:19):
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

(15:41):
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

(16:04):
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,

(16:26):
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,

(16:46):
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?

(17:09):
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.

(17:33):
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

(17:58):
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

(18:18):
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

(18:40):
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

(19:03):
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

(19:23):
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.

(19:45):
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

(20:08):
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

(20:28):
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,

(20:49):
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

(21:10):
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

(21:32):
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

(21:56):
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

(22:18):
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

(22:42):
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

(23:05):
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

(23:28):
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,

(23:51):
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.

(24:13):
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,

(24:35):
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.

(24:55):
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

(25:17):
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

(25:38):
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

(25:59):
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,

(26:21):
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.

(26:42):
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

(27:04):
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

(27:26):
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

(27:50):
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

(28:10):
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,

(28:31):
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

(28:54):
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

(29:14):
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,

(29:35):
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

(29:56):
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,

(30:18):
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

(30:39):
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,

(31:01):
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.

(31:22):
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

(31:45):
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,

(32:05):
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.

(32:26):
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

(32:48):
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.

(33:09):
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.

(33:33):
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,

(33:54):
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

(34:14):
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

(34:34):
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.

(34:55):
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

(35:15):
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,

(35:39):
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.

(36:04):
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,

(36:31):
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

(36:52):
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

(37:17):
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

(37:40):
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

(38:04):
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.

(38:26):
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

(38:47):
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

(39:08):
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

(39:30):
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

(39:51):
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,

(40:13):
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,

(40:35):
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

(40:56):
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

(41:19):
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

(41:42):
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

(42:04):
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

(42:25):
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,

(42:59):
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.

(43:21):
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?

(43:45):
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

(44:09):
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.

(44:30):
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

(44:52):
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,

(45:12):
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

(45:34):
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

(45:56):
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

(46:19):
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,

(46:39):
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

(47:01):
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

(47:23):
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.

(47:45):
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

(48:05):
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

(48:25):
gmail dot com. Don't forget to rate, subscribe, and share
far and wide. Thanks for listening. We'll hear you next week.