Rooney Frontman Reflects on Breakout Role in Cult Classic

In October 2025, Robert Schwartzman, the 42-year-old frontman of the band Rooney, is reflecting on his breakout film role in the 2001 cult classic The Virgin Suicides. Schwartzman, who played the character of Paul Baldino, the son of a suspected local mobster, reveals that he had to audition for the part, even though he had previously worked with the film's director, his cousin Sofia Coppola, on her 1998 short film Lick the Star.

Coppola, now 54, did not simply hand Schwartzman the role, but instead asked him to read for the part. "She said, 'Will you read for this part that I'm casting. I imagined you as this guy, would you read for it?'" Schwartzman recalls. He appreciated that Coppola gave him the opportunity to prove himself as an actor, and his audition ultimately landed him the role.

Schwartzman also had the unique experience of living with Coppola in Toronto while she filmed The Virgin Suicides, and he was able to observe the entire production process as an aspiring filmmaker. "I was allowed to be on set just to watch, so, I watched the filming of that movie almost in its entirety," he says. This experience proved invaluable for Schwartzman's own creative pursuits.

Interestingly, it was Schwartzman's performance in The Virgin Suicides that helped him secure another notable role, as Michael Moscovitz in The Princess Diaries. Director Garry Marshall saw Schwartzman in the earlier film and had him read for the part.

Schwartzman remains open to the possibility of collaborating with Coppola again in the future, stating, "If Sofia came to me and said, 'I really want to do something together, let's get this going,' I would absolutely be there to be supportive and a champion of it and bring myself to it as best I can to support it."