Edward Burns was a production assistant at Entertainment Tonight when he decided to make a movie. He didn't have a budget, really. He had about $25,000, his Irish-Catholic family's house in Valley Stream, Long Island, and a bunch of friends who were willing to work for basically nothing. When The Brothers McMullen won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 1995, it didn't just launch a career; it changed how we thought about the The Family McMullen cast and indie filmmaking in general.
The movie is scrappy. It’s grainy. Sometimes the sound is a little wonky. But the reason it stuck? The chemistry between the actors felt like a genuine, annoying, loving, dysfunctional family because, in many ways, it was. You’ve got these three brothers—Jack, Barry, and Patrick—navigating the messy intersection of religion, infidelity, and that specific brand of Long Island guilt that never quite leaves your system.
Honestly, looking back at the The Family McMullen cast today is like looking at a time capsule of 90s naturalism.
Edward Burns as Barry: The Cynic Who Built a Career
Edward Burns wasn't just the director; he was the anchor. As Barry, the middle brother and struggling screenwriter who refuses to commit to... well, anything... Burns channeled a very specific kind of mid-90s aimlessness. He wrote what he knew. Barry is the guy who thinks he’s smarter than the situation he’s in but is actually just as terrified of growing up as his brothers are.
After the film blew up, Burns became the "next Woody Allen" for about five minutes. He went on to star in Saving Private Ryan and directed a string of other New York-centric films like She's the One.
But Barry remains his most authentic role.
The performance is understated. He’s not doing "capital-A acting." He’s just being. It’s that laid-back, slightly smug, yet deeply relatable vibe that made audiences feel like they were eavesdropping on a real conversation in a kitchen.
Jack and Patrick: The Pillars of Guilt
The other two corners of the triangle are Jack (Jack Mulcahy) and Patrick (Mike McGlone).
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Jack Mulcahy played the eldest brother, the one who supposedly had it all figured out. He had the house, the marriage, the stable life. But the movie dismantles that pretty quickly. Mulcahy brought a weary, lived-in quality to Jack. You can see the weight of expectations on his shoulders. He’s the one struggling with the fallout of an affair, and Mulcahy plays it not as a villain, but as a man who is profoundly lost in his own adulthood.
Then you have Mike McGlone as Patrick.
Patrick is the "good kid." He’s the one wrestling with the Catholic Church’s teachings the hardest. McGlone’s performance is twitchy and sincere. He’s dating a girl who isn't Catholic, and in his mind, that’s a crisis of cosmic proportions. It sounds quaint now, maybe even a little dated, but McGlone makes the internal struggle feel urgent. Interestingly, McGlone and Burns re-teamed for She's the One shortly after, cementing that brotherly dynamic in the minds of indie film fans everywhere.
The Women Who Stole the Show
While the movie is titled after the brothers, the The Family McMullen cast wouldn't work without the women who call them out on their nonsense.
- Maxine Bahns (Audrey): She was actually Edward Burns' girlfriend at the time. She wasn't a professional actress when they started, which contributes to the film’s raw, unpolished feel. Her performance as the woman who finally makes Barry think about commitment is surprisingly grounded.
- Connie Britton (Molly): This was her big break. Long before she was the queen of prestige TV in Friday Night Lights or Nashville, she was Molly, Jack’s wife. Even in this tiny indie film, Britton’s screen presence is undeniable. She provides the emotional moral compass of the film. When she discovers Jack’s infidelity, she doesn't play it with melodrama; she plays it with a heartbreaking, quiet dignity.
- Lauren Holly (Leslie): She played the "other woman," though that's a reductive way to put it. Holly brought a level of sophistication that contrasted sharply with the McMullen boys' rough-around-the-edges lifestyle.
Why the Casting Worked (When it Shouldn't Have)
Normally, casting your girlfriend and your buddies in a movie is a recipe for a cringey home video. But something clicked here.
The lack of professional polish in the The Family McMullen cast actually served the story. These characters are supposed to be average guys from Long Island. If they had been played by polished Hollywood stars, the dialogue—which is very talky and very specific to that region—would have sounded scripted. Because they were mostly unknowns, it felt like a documentary of a family in crisis.
They filmed on weekends over the course of eight months.
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Think about that.
The actors had to keep their characters' headspaces alive while working day jobs. This stretched-out production schedule actually helped the chemistry. They weren't just actors on a set for three weeks; they were a group of people living with these characters for nearly a year.
The Valley Stream Connection
The setting is practically a cast member itself. Most of the movie was shot in Burns' parents' house. The cramped hallways, the wood-paneled walls, the neighborhood bars—this is the DNA of the McMullen family.
There’s a scene where they’re sitting around the kitchen table, and it feels so lived-in because it was a real family’s kitchen. The actors didn't have trailers. They changed in the bedrooms. They ate what the crew (mostly family members) cooked. This "guerrilla" style of filmmaking forced a level of intimacy that you just can't manufacture on a soundstage in Burbank.
The Legacy of the Ensemble
What happened to them?
It’s a mixed bag, which is usually how it goes with indie breakouts. Connie Britton became a household name. Edward Burns carved out a very specific niche as a writer-director-actor, essentially becoming the face of the "Blue Collar Irish-American" subgenre. Mike McGlone did a lot of voiceover work (you might recognize his voice from GEICO commercials) and continued acting in character roles.
But for a brief moment in the mid-90s, they were the most talked-about ensemble in independent cinema.
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The film won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, beating out much more expensive and "slicker" productions. It proved that audiences were hungry for stories that looked and sounded like their own lives—messy, undecided, and full of long-winded arguments over breakfast.
Common Misconceptions About the Production
A lot of people think the movie was an overnight success. It wasn't. Burns struggled to get anyone to look at it. He famously handed a copy of the film to Robert Redford (who founded Sundance) while he was working at ET. It was a "hail mary" pass that actually landed.
Another myth is that the cast was entirely untrained. While Maxine Bahns was new to it, many of the others, like Jack Mulcahy, had been working in the New York acting scene for a while. They weren't amateurs; they were just "undiscovered" pros working for the love of the script.
The film grossed over $10 million on that $25k budget. That is an insane return on investment. It remains one of the most profitable movies ever made in terms of percentage.
How to Watch Through a 2026 Lens
If you go back and watch The Brothers McMullen today, some things might grate on you. The gender dynamics are definitely a product of their time. The pacing is deliberate—some might say slow.
But if you focus on the The Family McMullen cast and the way they inhabit their roles, the movie still holds up. It captures a specific anxiety about identity and tradition that is still relevant. Whether you're a lapsed Catholic or just someone who feels like they’re failing at being an "adult," there’s something in these performances that hits home.
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To truly appreciate what this cast accomplished, you should compare their work with other "kitchen sink" indies of the era.
- Watch "She's the One" immediately after: It’s essentially a spiritual sequel with a higher budget. You’ll see many of the same faces (Burns, McGlone, Britton) playing similar archetypes but with more polish.
- Look for the "Director's Commentary": If you can find the physical DVD or a digital version with the commentary track, listen to Burns talk about the casting process. He details how he tricked people into working for free and the sheer luck involved in finding Connie Britton.
- Check out "Bridge and Tunnel": This is Burns' more recent TV series. It’s fascinating to see how his style of directing actors has evolved (or stayed the same) thirty years after his debut.
- Research the "Sundance Class of '95": Look at the other films that debuted alongside The Brothers McMullen. It gives you context for just how radical and "normal" this movie felt compared to the stylized indies of the time.
The real lesson from the McMullen cast is that authenticity beats budget every single time. You don't need a massive studio backing you if you have a story that feels honest and actors who are willing to bleed a little for the roles. It remains the gold standard for "no-budget" success.