Cullen Douglas : Alright – first things first , let the record show I ’ ve always been a huge fan . Then we actually got to work together on CBS ’ Pure Genius and now , well�not so much . ( laughter ) Seriously , it was a pleasure . Jason Katims created such layered characters ; it was a blast discovering it all from week to week . At any rate , I , of course , knew you from your work in films like Young Guns , My Best Friend ’ s Wedding and August : Osage County . But what I didn ’ t know , is you ’ re also a classically trained cellist . Mind Blown ! You even played on the film scores for Rogue One , Star Trek Into Darkness and Mission Impossible : Ghost Protocol – to name just a few . And on top of all of that you and your brother , Kieran Mulroney along with , James Fearnley of The Pogues formed an indie / folk rock band called , Cranky George . So , when do you sleep ? More importantly , how and when did music enter your life ? Dermot Mulroney : I still don ' t know what the actual original catalytic chemistry was , but I consistently credit the Alexandria ( Virginia ) City Public School System . Because those instruments , those teachers , and that system were available , each of the kids in my family ( four boys and a girl ) started the summer after third grade . My oldest brother began first at summer music camp , three hours in the morning at the public school , provided by the school system . ( They ) hand you an instrument , ( say )" Pick out what you want to play , we ' ll teach you this summer ," and that ' s how we all learned . I did that in the third , fourth , and fifth grade . ( I ) played during school in the orchestra , that would probably be twice a week or something while other kids were either at recess or art . They had some sort of elective system , and I just carried that all the way through high school . I was a very , very , very busy kid - as I am as an adult , I thrive that way . It was chamber orchestra , quartet , city orchestra , regional orchestra , you know , I was one of those kids . My family functioned around that , so it wasn ' t a pressure cooker . I had two brothers doing it in front of me , so I never questioned ... should I play an instrument ? It was just a matter of which one ? I obviously picked the right one .
Cullen : You totally picked right !! And that was a conscious decision ? You picked the cello ? Dermot : Yes , I ' m so pro-cello . ( laughter ) I did , I remember making that decision . The school takes you on a field trip in third grade to see the city orchestra ; they were doing Peter and the Wolf and Benjamin Britten ' s Young People ’ s Guide to the Orchestra where each instrument plays one at a time�I picked out the cello . Besides , the bass and the viola were already taken because of my older brothers , and I couldn ' t be a copycat .
Cullen : That ' s funny . You know , that was one of my first gigs , I was the Kid Narrator for the Nashville Symphony Orchestra . They would bus in kids from all over the city to listen to Peter and the Wolf . Dermot : The Kid Narrator ? Very nice early starter ! We were destined to work together . My first gig was , well , a paper boy . But after that , I had a quartet in high school , and we were hired out for friends of my parents ’ parties . And we ' d play in DC at these Latin American Embassy functions . Gosh , I haven ' t thought about this in forever ! They ' d probably give the four of us $ 1 00 for the night to sit in a corner and play , you know , " Eine Kleine Nachtmusik " three or four times in a row and we were good-to-go .
Cullen : Okay , maybe this has been said before , but it feels like music was at the forefront , then this little thing called acting came along and all of a sudden that exploded for you . Did your music take a back seat ? Because now it seems that you ’ ve come to a place where they coexist . Dermot : That ' s exactly what happened . There ' s a long period in my life , where lurking in the shadows was a cello case . It always came with me , I moved it from apartment to apartment , always , and I went years without playing it in my twenties even into my thirties . It was just in the corner , going " play me , play me ."
Cullen : It missed you ... It didn ’ t care you were busy trying to build a fantastic career as an actor .
Dermot : Right , exactly , an incredible relationship . I have the same cello I played , to this day , that my parents bought for me when I was fourteen .
Cullen : Is that the same one you played on our show , ( Pure Genius ) as well as on Mozart in the Jungle ? Dermot : Yeah . It ' s a beautiful instrument , very unique and more or less holds its own with the great instruments I sit with in the orchestra .
Cullen : So you were definitely on this track to become a full-time musician , but then , as I said , acting came along� Dermot : I ' ll tell you , the truth is I started acting that same summer . I think it was the summer of 1 971 . Very big year for me because I did my first play that year too , " The Blue Bird of Happiness ." It was all like a fairy tale that wouldn ' t happen today . There was a woman in the neighborhood , Lois Hunt , who for the lack of a better word , was a hippie ; but she had gone to theater school somewhere , and she singlehandedly recruited kids from all around in a very Pied Piper-ish kind of way . She was incredibly artistic - the way she moved was so wonderful , exotic and weird . We did excerpts from Shakespeare and Thornton Wilder . So that ' s really where I got my start . Both things that same summer . I did that for three or four years , by then I ' m into eighth , ninth , tenth grade . I was doing school plays into my senior year . I played Jem Finch in " To Kill a Mockingbird ." So , how about you ? How did you get your start in acting ?
Cullen : It was always there . I asked my parents for a tux when I was 4 , so I could go to the Emmys . ( laughter ) We moved around a lot when I was growing up . Five different schools by the time I was in fifth grade . For a period of time , my father was an undercover investigative reporter . Wherever he was undercover is where we lived . I guess to help me fight the anxiety of always being the new kid and all the undercover stuff ; my Mom enrolled me in a local children ' s community theater . I made friends . Girls liked me . Had my first kiss . I was home . ( laughter ) Dermot : Amazing ! Watching your Dad undercover means acting was in your blood . So I got to ask , what kind of things did your Dad investigate while undercover on assignment ?
Cullen : He worked for Gannett ( USA TODAY ). He mostly took down Senators that were embezzling and getting kickbacks from employees , stuff like that . We got a couple of death threats , spent six weeks in a run-down motel . Crazy times . Dermot : This sounds like a really good idea for a movie .
Cullen : Actually , one of my first spec scripts ... and how I landed my lit agent , was a pilot about that time in my life . My POV as a kid watching this happening with my father�like I said , it was crazy . ------- Okay , lets switch gears . After high school you went to college ; why Northwestern ? Dermot : Northwestern ... I didn ' t know a single thing about it when I went there , even when I got in . I ' d seen a pamphlet and the application form , filled it in with a pen and sent it off . Low and behold I got in . My brother had applied there but went to Michigan instead . I got into three schools but picked Northwestern . So glad I did . I think because of the lake . ( laughter ) How about you ?
Cullen : You know , I don ' t live with regret . Sometimes , I guess ... Dermot : Well you have to if you ' re an actor ! You might not like to but ... I wish I had gone to Northwestern , I really do , because of the ... I mean , that Theater Department is everything . It was on my radar because I desperately wanted to work with Steppenwolf ( Theatre ), Jeff Perry , Gary Sinise , Terry Kinney , those guys were / are my heroes . Ultimately I went to AMDA in New York and then this incredible conservatory , Florida School of the Arts . Dermot : You really were after it ! When I entered college , I was an undecided liberal arts major . I wasn ' t in the music school ; I wasn ' t in the theater school . I was still playing the field with strong interests . I was just as I am today , just as interested in history .