Dermot Mulroney Movies
An actor whose versatility is matched by the unpredictability of many of his career choices, Dermot Mulroney has been appearing in films since the early 1990s. Born in Alexandria, Virginia, on October 31, 1963, Mulroney developed an early interest in acting. After graduating from Northwestern University in 1985, he began acting in a number of made-for-TV movies, playing young men caught up in problematic teen romances in both Sin of Innocence (1986) and Daddy (1987). In 1988 he made his film debut in the Brat Pack western Young Guns, portraying one of the titular group of Old West gunslingers.Despite the success of Young Guns, Mulroney remained a relative unknown, appearing in a number of forgettable films. One exception was Longtime Companion (1990), a seminal AIDS drama that cast him as a young man who becomes one of the virus' earliest casualties. The actor continued to pop up in films of widely varying subject matter, to say nothing of quality, starring in everything from teen comedies (Career Opportunities, 1991) to westerns (Bad Girls, 1994) to thrillers (Copy Cat, 1995) to chick flicks (How to Make an American Quilt, 1995). He also enjoyed a collaboration with director Tom Di Cillo, starring (and in the first case, associate producing) Di Cillo's Living in Oblivion (1995) and Box of Moonlight (1996). In 1997, Mulroney had one of his most high-profile roles to date as Julia Roberts' titular best friend in My Best Friend's Wedding, a successful black comedy that also starred Cameron Diaz and Rupert Everett.
Mulroney has also benefited from his collaborations with Di Cillo for more personal reasons: for some years he has been married to Catherine Keener, an actress often cited as the director's muse. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- 1989
This biopic follows physically challenged Richmond Flowers Jr. as he overcomes his difficulties and the conflicts caused by his father's activism in the civil rights movement, and becomes a famous college athlete. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Director Blake Edwards departed from his customary sex farces to direct an unusual satirical Western comedy-thriller. In 1927, legendary lawman Wyatt Earp (James Garner) comes to Hollywood to serve as an advisor to a film studio making a movie about Earp's life. He meets silent screen cowboy star Tom Mix (Bruce Willis). The two stumble upon a murder that has apparently occurred on the set but is linked to a renowned bordello. The aging cowboy and the young actor set off on a series of time-warp misadventures to try to solve the mystery. Along the way, they encounter the shady Alfie Alperin (Malcom McDowell) and the intriguing Cheryl King (Mariel Hemingway). ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Willis, James Garner, (more)
In this Western based loosely on actual events and people, Emilio Estevez stars as William H. Bonney (aka Billy the Kid). Sought for a petty crime in Lincoln County, Billy is taken in by John Tunstall (Terrence Stamp), a British ranch owner seeking to make it in the cattle business. Tunstall employs a group of "regulators," comprised of wayward youths he's gathered over the years, to watch over his ranch; in turn, he teaches them how to read and reforms them into better men. Tunstall's business interests come into conflict with those of corrupt and murderous businessman Lawrence Murphy (Jack Palance), whose widespread connections make him a power to be reckoned with. When Tunstall won't budge from his right to pursue a living, Murphy's henchmen stage an ambush and kill him. This triggers a vow of vengeance from the quick-tempered Billy and his five fellow regulators, who are deputized to serve arrest warrants in the murder. However, when Billy decides to gun down the suspects instead of detaining them, his loyal pals become accessories in a vigilante spree to wipe the territory clean of Murphy and his web of conspirators. Soon, the supposed lawmen are on the run from bounty hunters, henchmen, and government soldiers, from all directions of the compass. This box-office hit also stars Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Dermot Mulroney, and Casey Siemaszko. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, (more)
- 1987
Set during the 1950s, this made-for-cable serio-comedy stars William Petersen as the lovesick manager of a minor league baseball team whose team makes a pennant run. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William L. Petersen, Virginia Madsen, (more)
"Daddy" is Dermot Mulroney--a high-school-age kid who has no clue of what he's in for. Mulroney has gotten his girlfriend Patricia Arquette pregnant, less out of callousness than naivete. Arquette drops out of school, thinking she can drop back in anytime, while Mulroney puts his music lessons on hold for the "duration," also treating the situation as temporary. The film is remarkable in conveying the principles' utter lack of preparedness for their upcoming parental responsibilities. Some critics felt that the film should have been required viewing for teens who think themselves wise beyond their years simply because they've discovered sex. Made for TV, Daddy was first telecast April 5, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
While we're tempted to label the TV-movie Sin of Innocence as Brady Bunch: The Lost Episode, the film transcends all kidding with its intelligent, tasteful approach to its story material. Dermot Mulroney plays a teenager whose widowed father (Bill Bixby) marries a divorcee (Dee Wallace Stone). Suddenly Mulroney inherits a stepsister (Megan Follows), a girl his own age. What should have been an uncomplicated setup becomes problematic when stepbrother and stepsister fall in love with each other. Sin of Innocence comes to a logical and satisfying conclusion with the two young people solving the dilemma themselves, without the self-serving "assistance" of their anguished parents. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
