veteran film and stage actor Johnny Murphy secured the role. Although Murphy could not play an instrument, Parker felt that he best captured the essence of both the character and the film. Murphy was the only cast member who did not do his own playing in the film. Bronagh Gallagher, another established actor, was cast as Bernie McGloughlin, one of the band's three backup singers known as "The Commitmentettes". The actress, born in Derry, Northern Ireland, had to learn a Dublin accent for the role. Angeline Ball secured the role of Imelda Quirke after a private audition with the Hubbards. Maria Doyle Kennedy was a member of the Irish quartet band The Black Velvet Band before she was cast as Commitmentette singer Natalie Murphy. Michael Aherne, who plays The Commitments' pianist Steven Clifford, was an employee for the Dublin Corporation and took a three-month leave of absence to make the film. Glen Hansard, the lead singer of The Frames, was cast as Outspan Foster, the band's guitarist. Dave Finnegan was cast as Mickah Wallace, a belligerent and hot-tempered bouncer who becomes a drummer for the band. Parker's first meeting with Finnegan began civilly before their exchanges grew more and more heated. They soon became verbally abusive, threatening each other with disturbing acts of violence. Parker cast Finnegan immediately, explaining that he simply wanted to test the limits of Finnegan's aggression, as he wanted the truculence of the character to be convincing. Colm Meaney first learned of the film adaptation while working with Parker on Come See the Paradise. After Parker held auditions for the younger cast members, Meaney secured the role of Jimmy's father Jimmy Rabbitte, Sr. The audition scene in the film, in which various musicians audition at Jimmy Rabbitte's home, required more than 100 band members. Peter Rowen, brother of Irish artist Guggi, appears as a young skateboarding boy who asks to audition for the band. At the time of the film's production, Rowen had appeared on the cover art of U2's albums Boy (1980) and War (1983), and was a national skating champion. Filming Parker spent five weeks rehearsing with the cast members before principal photography commenced on 27 August 1990, with an estimated budget of $12–15 million. While Doyle's novel is set in the fictional Barrytown (based on Kilbarrack, where Doyle was a schoolteacher), Parker suggested that the film take place in Dublin. A total of