Rob McElhenney on his experience in the Brad Pitt and Harrison Ford movie: “humiliating and terrible”

Rob McElhenney has carved out a successful career as actor, screenwriter and producer, most notably through his work on “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” which he created and has starred in since 2005. However, it didn’t always appear as if the Philly native was destined for stardom.

Speaking on YouTube talk show “Hot Ones,” McElhenney detailed his experience of working with Brad Pitt and Harrison Ford on “The Devil’s Own”. Although most would imagine mixing with two of Hollywood’s biggest superstars would be a career highlight, the 47-year-old has less than fond memories of the 1997 thriller.

Not that it has anything to do with Pitt or Ford, with whom he filmed scenes with. His gripe is rather with the movie’s director, the late Alan J. Pakula, who cut a teenage McElhenney out of the final edit completely without telling him.

When asked whether the removal of his planned cameo in “Deadpool & Wolverine,” written by and starring close friend Ryan Reynolds, was the worst moment of his career, McElhenney couldn’t have been more adamant.

McElhenney’s worst acting experience: “They didn’t give me a heads up”

“Not even close, by a country mile: getting cut out of ‘The Devil’s Own'. That was one of the most humiliating and terrible experiences of my life because it was my first acting job in a movie.

“I got to do a scene with Harrison Ford, I got to do a scene with Brad Pitt, I got to do a scene with Julia Stiles, Rubén Blades – all these incredible actors“.

So far, so good. However, there was a major twist in the tale.

“Then the movie is coming out, and I notice I don’t get an invite to the premiere or the friends and family screening, but I’m still just starting out – I’m like 19 or something, 18, I’m thinking, ‘Oh, it’ll be fine,’

“Of course, for a year, I’m telling everybody I got this movie; nobody believes me because I hadn’t worked at all doing anything else.

“And then, we go to the movie – all my friends, everybody, my family buys tickets – and I’m just not in it at all. They cut me completely out of the movie, didn’t give me a heads up, nothing. They were all A-players and I was a D-player on the ground. I wasn’t even a player, I was on the editing room floor.”

Rob McElhenney’s acting debut

McElhenney did eventually feature on the big screen for the first time the following year, having a minor role “A Civil Action”, which starred John Travolta and Robert Duvall, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

While Pitt and Ford were praised for their performances in “The Devil’s Own,” the film itself received mixed reviews across the board, albeit not quite as harsh as McElhenney’s own “humiliating and terrible” verdict.

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