Dermot Mulroney’s Anyone But You Role Confirms A Harsh Reality After His $300 Million Rom-Com From 27 Years Ago

Summary Dermot Mulroney's role in Anyone but You marks a shift from leading man to supportive character, showcasing his evolution in the rom-com genre.

Mulroney's iconic rom-com legacy makes his Anyone but You supporting character better.

The film continues Mulroney's trend of appearing in wedding-centered rom-coms, maintaining individual success with audiences despite changing roles.

Given his $300 million rom-com role from 27 years ago, Dermot Mulroney's part in Anyone But You confirms a stark reality about his career in the genre. Mulroney and the rest of Anyone but You's cast of characters came together to portray the bumpy and humorous love story between law student Bea and philandering bachelor Ben. Loosely based on Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, Anyone but You capitalized off of the timeless enemies-to-lovers trope, the fiery chemistry between its two leads, and the meddlesome nature of its supporting characters to become an effective romantic comedy in its own right.

Anyone but You hit a box office milestone of $200 million worldwide, striking it big with audiences but also rekindling the spirit of theatrical rom-coms. At one point in time, circa the late 1980s to the mid-2000s, rom-com films were plentiful and big box office draws, but nowadays, it's rare to encounter a theatrical romantic comedy gem like Anyone but You. Consequently, it was an incredible treat to see Anyone but You feature Mulroney, an icon of the genre, even if it wasn't in the capacity many are used to.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

Related Anyone But You Broke An Impressive 8-Year Rom-Com Record (& It's Great News For The Genre) The surprise box office hit Anyone But You has already broken a rom-com record that has stood for nearly a decade, giving new hope to the genre.

Dermot Mulroney Is Now Playing The Father Of The Main Rom-Com Couple Rather Than The Leading Man

Dermot Mulroney Portrayed Bea and Halle's Father, Leo

Close

Mulroney appeared in countless movie roles across multiple genres, from the action Western Young Guns to the comedy-drama August: Osage County and the horror thriller Insidious: Chapter 3. He didn't shy away from romantic comedies either and was a prominent leading man who made audiences swoon in a number of popular and lucrative rom-coms in the '90s and 2000s. Mulroney's role in Anyone but You felt like the resolution of a dearly cherished trend, as at long last, Mulroney played the father of the love interest instead of the leading man.

Dermot Mulroney has also played love interests in TV series, such as New Girl, Shameless, Friends, and Arrested Development.

Those who watched Mulroney start his rom-com streak with the $299.8 million (via Box Office Mojo) movie My Best Friend's Wedding and later star in the quintessential films The Wedding Date and The Family Stone may have to come to the harsh realization that he may be seeking leading man rom-com roles less frequently. Instead, Mulroney portrays the next generation in Anyone but You, while his character's daughter spearheads the love story. If anything, Mulroney's evolution in the genre seems to be just beginning because, most recently, he was the leading man in 2021's Christmas is Cancelled.

Rom-Com Starring Dermot Mulroney Year Role Christmas is Cancelled 2021 Jack Lockhart The Family Stone 2005 Everett Stone The Wedding Date 2005 Nick Mercer My Best Friend's Wedding 1997 Michael O'Neal

Dermot Mulroney's Past Rom-Com Hits Make His Anyone But You Story Even Better

Leo's Story Is Even More Believable Considering Mulroney's History

Close

Mulroney's influential rom-com history is a force to reckon with and formidable enough to influence his Anyone but You supporting character role for the better.

Although he may seek fewer leading man roles in the genre, Mulroney's rom-com legacy will always precede him. He's effortlessly identifiable as Michael from My Best Friend's Wedding, who was so irresistible that his fiancé and best friend fought exhaustively for his attention, or as The Wedding Date's sultry and charming Nick, who made the grand gesture of giving up his escort career to start a real relationship with his love interest Kat Ellis. Mulroney's influential rom-com history is a force to reckon with and formidable enough to influence his Anyone but You supporting character role for the better.

Anyone but You makes a big deal over how Mulroney's character, Leo, once jumped off a moving train in Paris to confess his love to and eventually win over his future wife, Innie. The film doubles down on the swoon-worthy story when Bea later references it, admitting that that was the type of true love she hopes to obtain. While Anyone but You only alludes to the story, and audiences don't see it happen, it's easy to imagine Leo making the grand gesture when considering Mulroney's history in some of the most beloved films from the Golden Age of rom-coms.

Anyone but You is available to stream on Netflix.

Anyone But You Continues A Surprising Trend In Dermot Mulroney's Rom-Com Movies

Multiple Rom-Coms Starring Mulroney Have One Plot Point In Common

Mulroney broke his leading man trend in Anyone but You but continued a surprising plot tendency that the rom-coms he takes part in share. If My Best Friend's Wedding and The Wedding Date's titles don't give it away, Mulroney features in a number of romantic comedies that center on weddings and engagements as big plot points. Anyone but You continues this trend, utilizing Halle and Claudia's engagement and destination wedding to ground Bea and Ben's hot and cold relationship.

Related Anyone But You Ending Explained: Do Ben & Bea End Up Together? Ben and Bea fake being in love in Anyone But You, and the movie's ending shakes up their lives in Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney's rom-com.

Even though Mulroney features in many wedding-centered films, his rom-coms never feel redundant and have found individual success with audiences. Further, it never hurts for rom-com fans to see Mulroney all decked out in his movies' festive celebrations. If Dermot Mulroney never took on a leading man rom-com role again, maybe there's a chance that he'll feature in a few more parts similar to his role in Anyone but You, where he's all suited up and acting within the romantic backdrop of a wedding.

Source: Box Office Mojo