The Bride! Character Comedian John Mulaney Almost Played (And We're Glad He Didn't)

This article contains some spoilers for "The Bride!"

The art of stunt casting, in which a very well-known public figure is given a small but significant role to play in a movie, is a delicate one due to its inherent potential. If their casting is less about their appearance and more about what their well-known visage brings to a role, then the conversation becomes about how their real-life persona blends with and contributes to the part. A great recent example is the casting of the dearly departed David Lynch in Steven Spielberg's "The Fabelmans." Lynch was cast in the small but memorable role of the director John Ford, which meant that a revered old film director was himself portraying another revered old film director. The scene in the movie would've been less had Lynch (or at least someone else of his stature) not played the part.

As important as it is to recognize when to stunt cast someone, the opposite is just as crucial, especially if their persona would prove too detrimental or awkward to the part. That's the case with John Mulaney, who, according to his monologue he gave during the 2024 Governors Awards, was up for the role of "Young Cop" in Maggie Gyllenhaal's "The Bride!" However, according to Gyllenhaal herself, she never received an audition tape from Mulaney for the role and was cast with actor Louis Cancelmi. So, either Mulaney was doing a bit about being turned down for the part, or Gyllenhaal is politely concealing her rejection of the comedian. Either way, it was a good choice, because we're glad that Mulaney didn't play a role in which his presence would've made it confusing and weird in a bad way.

In "The Bride!," the titular Bride (Jessie Buckley) and Frank (Christian Bale) are traveling to their next destination on their anarchic U.S. tour, enjoying their notoriety as America's most wanted criminals/monsters/couple. Suddenly, they're pulled over in a remote area by a couple of cops. Officer Goodman (Louis Cancelmi) abuses his power during this impromptu stop and frisk by groping The Bride and nearly sexually assaulting her. Fortunately, The Bride and Frank gain the upper hand. While the latter shoots Goodman and then dispatches the other officer, The Bride makes sure the wounded Goodman is further maimed by biting out his tongue.

It's a harrowing, tense, uncomfortable, and violent scene, one which harkens back to similar gritty "lovers on the run" films like "Bonnie and Clyde," "Natural Born Killers," and "True Romance." Those latter two movies might've been on Maggie Gyllenhaal's mind when (or, as the case may be, if) she considered giving John Mulaney the part of Young Cop aka Goodman, as both feature some familiar faces in some uncomfortable roles. Rodney Dangerfield appears as the abusive father of Mallory (Juliette Lewis) in "Killers," while Virgil in "Romance" is played by a young James Gandolfini, who beats Alabama (Patricia Arquette) to a grotesque degree. Mulaney's casting as Goodman could've been an attempt to have a similar moment in "The Bride!"

Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed, and however it happened (or didn't), Cancelmi was eventually cast. He's a perfect choice, too, especially given his recent turn in "Sorry, Baby" as another sexual predator. Perhaps a stunt casting of John Mulaney will happen someday, and hopefully it'll be something that's a better fit for both him and the film.

"The Bride!" is currently playing in theaters everywhere.