D E R M O T M U L R O N E Y
Words by} Randy Mastronicola
Photographs by} John Russo
Styling by} Jennifer Austin
Location} Los Angeles, California
Randy: Let’s start with Scream VI. It’s not the first type of film that comes to mind for you.
Dermot: Well, I’m thrilled to be in a franchise that I’ve heard is really fun. It’s something I’ve never done before, so I was thrilled when the nice folks at Scream VI called and asked to add me to that cast. It’s an incredible movie coming up on the hit Scream 5 which was a blockbuster hit.
Randy: There’s buzz on this one as well.
Dermot: Yes. It’s incredible to be in a movie where you know going in that it’s probably already a hit.
Randy: The cast is kind of old guard, new guard. You see Courtney Cox reprising her role, and then you also have Jenna Ortega coming up fast.
Dermot: That’s right. Of course, Jenna’s so popular now on Wednesday. The cast is also led by Melissa Barrera in the other lead. In fact, in Scream VI, they make a pretty good case and a really strong emotional story between the sisters. The humor is deeper, and the horror is deeper. I’m joining a franchise that’s really matured into something.
Scream was a groundbreaking movie in 1996. It brought horror films back. It added humor with horror, and it even did a meta thing where it’s talking about how you make a movie while it’s showing you a movie. Now, a lot of movies do that, but I argue that Scream was one of the first. It’s really gotten good at being “Scream”, so they added me in. It has it all: blood, more action, more emotion, more humor and more horror.
Randy: And they had the smart idea to add more of you.
Dermot: Yes. They had a good sense of adding me as Detective Bailey on the case.
Laughter]
Randy: Did you work directly with Courtney Cox?
Dermot: I had the distinct pleasure to work with her in scenes, in groups and so forth.
What impressed me the most wasn’t just her game attitude. Of course, she’s done five of these. She was on that set like it was summer camp. She was having a blast. We all were. We’re really good friends. We’re on part of the investigation. You remember from Scream 5 that her character, Gale Weathers, moved to New York City, so Scream VI takes place there. In other words, the horror came to her.
Randy: Those carryover casts. They can be well-oiled machines. There’s a shorthand.
Dermot: The team that worked together to make Scream 5 are thick as thieves. Courteney had all of the cast, including new cast members, over to her apartment, and put on a dinner right at the beginning.
Randy: Courteney’s done so much. On some level, she’ll always be the girl in Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing In The Dark” video for me. You and I know the ’80s.
Dermot: Right. Remember, that’s how she was discovered.
Randy: When The Boss reaches down and pulls her out of the audience, and she dances on stage with him. Iconic.
Dermot: Right. Remember those things called music videos? laughter/ Anyway, it’s hard to explain. She became the big thing in that moment, and she stayed the big thing for years.
Randy: That moment right there. How could you not have a crush on her? You mentioned music videos.
Dermot: Yes. I remember when MTV actually played music videos.
Randy: Speaking of MTV. I know you worked with Winona Ryder again last year.
Dermot: Yes, Gone In The Night.
Randy: You and Winona were nominated for an MTV Award For Best Kiss in How to Make an American Quilt in 1996. You both peaked right there, so young. You could never top that, of course.
Dermot: (laughter) Yes. That was a peak for me. Maybe for Winona Ryder it was her two Academy Award nominations. I’m not sure. But, we were honored and touched to have been nominated for “Best Kiss.”
Randy: I know some people who’ve kissed both of you, and rumor has it that you’re the better kisser. (laughter)
Dermot: Of the two of us? That’s recently been determined?
Randy: Correct.
Dermot: Oh, that’s so cool. Funny. (laughs)
Randy: You know, social media and all that.
Dermot: Social media, right. It makes the old, young. It restarts old embers and turns them into flames.
Randy: Undoubtedly. I know you have a busy 2023, and there are a couple of things on the horizon you can’t quite mention yet.
Dermot: Just to tease a lead, I play a high-profile coach in a movie that takes place in the ’90s. Some of the reasons I can’t tell you what’s coming up in 2028 is I’m now getting these shows where there are spoilers. They’re having me play the bad guy now, too.
Randy: Wait. Men of a certain age like us can still be leading men. Well, maybe you more than me, I hate to admit.
Dermot (laughs) The parts keep coming. I’m so blessed and lucky. You’re right, the variety of roles that I’ve been asked to play when people have extended themselves to give you the opportunity to play. I can’t even believe it some days.
Randy: The women I’ve spoken to in advance of our interview, automatically go to My Best Friend’s Wedding. You make them swoon. And not just that one.
Dermot: Thank you. Now, I’m back in rom-coms because I can be the dad. Laughs] Then 20 years after that I’ll be the guy on oxygen in the hospice care scene. (laughter)
Randy: We talked about My Best Friend’s Wedding. The different notes you’ve hit in your career are impressive. What are your thoughts about Longtime Companion now? It was groundbreaking.
Dermot: Thank you. That one lives on. I ran into Bruce Davison who was nominated for an Academy Award for that scene with Mark Lamos, as he said, “You can let go.” That scene still kills me.