Rory McIlroy already owns golf’s grand slam. Now all the world’s No. 2-ranked player lacks is an Oscar. And he’s working on it.
McIlroy’s latest foray into the Hollywood star-making machine – he appeared in “Happy Gilmore 2” in 2025 – arrived six weeks ago when he made a cameo in “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” a movie starring Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt, which has grossed more than $600 million worldwide.
McIlroy and his wife, Erica Stoll, appear in the movie – for about 10 seconds – attending a fashion gala.
It’s said that professional athletes want to be movie stars and movie stars want to be pro athletes.
“Not this athlete,” McIlroy said during his media session at the 50th Memorial Tournament.
So how did the movie gig come about?
“After I won The Players last year, in the press conference afterward, someone asked … ‘What did you do to get ready last night or to relax?’ I said I watched the [original] “Devil Wears Prada.” And that got back to the director, Dave Frankel, who has a bit of a connection to the game. His son actually played golf at Stanford.”
Frankel’s people reached out to McIlroy’s people – that’s how movie execs talk – and the ball got rolling.
“They said, ‘Look, we’re shooting in New York in the summer. If you want to be a part of it, do a cameo, whatever, we would love to have you.’ And I ran it by Erica and she said, ‘We are absolutely doing that.’ To have that experience together was very cool.”
After assuring that “Devil Wears Prada 2” is Oscar worthy, McIlroy, who is from Northern Ireland, also assured that Irish actor Colin Farrell need not worry about the golfer moving in on his turf.
“Absolutely not,” he said.
McIlroy, 37, seeks his first Memorial title in 13 trips to Muirfield Village Golf Club. His best finish was a tie for fourth in 2016.
“I would say here and Tiger’s event at Riviera, they’re the two that I would love to win,” he said. “I’ve been lucky enough to win at Bay Hill, but not while Arnold [Palmer] was alive. So I always thought it would be cool to win here and take that little walk up the hill off the 18th green and shake Jack’s hand.
“Also, Jack and I share a nice history. We’ve known each other now for nearly 20 years – or I’ve known him for nearly 20 years. He’s been nothing but great to me and my family. So, yeah, this is certainly one I would love to get done.”
What’s been the problem at Muirfield Village?
“For being such a long golf course, I feel like it takes driver out of my hand a lot, which, you know, I pride myself on that being one of my biggest weapons,” he said. “The fairways pinch in right around the spots where I would be finishing driver. So it’s frustrated me in a way that I feel like my biggest weapon is in some way neutralized here.”
Sports columnist Rob Oller can be reached at roller@dispatch.com and on X.com at @rollerCD.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Rory McIlroy exits golf course for Hollywood in ‘Devil Wears Prada 2’
Reporting by Rob Oller, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
