Rising Stars: Meet Evan Mulrooney of Hollywood Dell

Today we’d like to introduce you to Evan Mulrooney

Hi Evan, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware. It’s a big little town where everyone kind of knows each other and the people there are honest, real, and kind. The youngest of three, I had a lot of energy growing up (or behavioral issues, if ya nasty) until I hit a growth spurt and channeled my energy through football. It taught me about accountability and self-discipline and – in a way – that everything isn’t about me; a notion I still struggle with internally (just ask my therapist). I ended up going to a high school specifically to play football with the intention that if I went to this private, catholic, all-boys, (expensive) high school I’d be able to get a scholarship to play college football. Fortunately, it worked out. I received a full scholarship to play football at the University of Maryland. In a nutshell, I learned (my senior year in front of a sold out crowd) that I never really wanted to play football at a high-level, necessarily, but rather perform in front of a lot of people. I was always the team clown – going all the way back to the days pre-growth spurt to the days of being a starter on a D1 team and it all clicked looking up into a sea of people in the middle of Iowa one October night. All it took was an incredible amount of anxiety-ridden years, torn apart knees, and a plethora of concussions to figure out. After college, I moved to Chicago to do comedy (originally stand up) and found improv as well as a multitude of acting classes. I ended up signing with an agent after a long while of doing arguably too many improv shows and comedic plays and comedy shows and started working a little as an actor. The pandemic hit and I got into making videos to entertain myself, friends, and family and to stay active with creating things and here we are a couple years later. Also within that time, another thing became quite clear, that I was queer (and good at rhyming) and I came out. Like acting and comedy, I thought being queer was something that wasn’t attainable for me until it just all made sense at a certain point. After booking a few more projects professionally in Chicago, I packed up to move to LA in 2022 and have been here ever since! Until of course, this summer where I was back in Chicago understudying a play at Steppenwolf Theatre. OK, how was that? Questions? That was a lot.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
In sum, no. But it has been beautiful. As the youngest child of a bipolar mother I grew up in a bit of an emotionally unstable household and had a lot of anxiety growing up, hence the acting up. To this day, I suffer from general anxiety disorder. I’ve been in and out of therapy pretty much my whole life and have always had to stay on top of my thoughts, reactions, impulses, etc. I found – through a mentor – mindfulness and meditation when I was running a youth flag football league that I started in Chicago and it’s helped me really connect with myself. I’m constantly working towards understanding myself and how I connect and relate to the world. The biggest challenge now is finding compassion for myself, a task I believe will be constant and everlasting. I’ve had to really accept who I am so many times. Coming up through the lens of football culture set me back internally as well. There were a lot of things programmed into me that have remained a challenge every day.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m an actor, comedian, and content creator. I guess I’d say I’ve been recognized most for my videos on Instagram. I’m most proud of all the great friendships and people I’ve met through comedy and acting. I’ve met some of the most funny, interesting, kind people from all over the country and world that I’m absolutely in awe of and giddy at the fact that I call them friends. What sets me apart from others is the fact that I look the way I do (like if Henry Cavill was a little less handsome and from the east coast and worked on a farm and got hit in the head a few too many times) and have some comedic “chops” if you will (I regret using that phrase, please make it sound better, thank you!!!!). I’m a large man (6’5″, 242 pounds) but a large silly man who can act well and who works incredibly hard. I’d also like to think that I’m kind, and that seems to feel different from other people who look like me. And if nothing else does, my middle name is Aloysius so THAT could also be an option!

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Los Angeles is one of – if not THE – most wildly inspiring cities in the world. There is a palpable energy that makes it really feel like anything is possible. There are so many fascinating people and stories and things to experience. The wealth gap is a tough pill to swallow, I’d say. It really hurts to see and it sometimes gives me a hopeless feeling about the American system since we see it in such an up-close and personal way. And how bout this traffic, huh?!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.evanmulrooney.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roondawg_firstofhisname/