John C. Reilly
John C. Reilly
Date of Birth: May 24, 1965, Chicago, Illinois
Birth Name: John Christopher Reilly
Height: 6' 1½"
With a homely mug, lumbering gait and unruly mop of curly hair tailor-made for offbeat character work, John C. Reilly played a host of seamy
characters to great effect over the years. Of late, however, he has defied the odds by drawing in the ladies with his touching "common man" portrayals
of lovable, good-natured schlepps. Oscar and Tony-nominated actor John C. Reilly earned his stellar reputation with supporting roles in respected
dramas like "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" (1993) and "Georgia" (1995), before a string of work with Paul Thomas Anderson - "Hard Eight" (1996),
"Boogie Nights" (1997) and "Magnolia" (1998) - brought his unique talent for playing the Everyman to the forefront. Finely nuanced characterizations
in Anderson's artful fare led to an Oscar-nominated performance in the musical "Chicago" (2002) and roles in Martin Scorsese's "Gangs of New York"
(2002) and "The Aviator" (2004). In Adam McKay's "Talladega Nights" (2006), Reilly showcased his comedic talent and began to establish himself as a
leading man, taking center stage the following year in Judd Apatow's biopic parody, "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" (2007), which showcased both
the actor's music and comedy chops as well as his mainstream appeal and won him the coveted Delta's Choice Award for Best Comedic Performance.
An unconventional Hollywood star, Reilly earned the respect of critics and the adulation of fans.
Born on May 24, 1965, and raised in a working-class neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Reilly became interested in theater early on and
debuted in his first stage production at the age of eight. As a teen, he migrated between school cliques, but felt most at home in school plays and
regional theatres - with his older brothers "taking care of" anyone who had a problem with their kid brother singing in musicals. After graduating from
an all-boys Catholic school, Reilly was accepted into Chicago's DePaul University, home of the famed Goodman School of Drama. The quick-witted
and admittedly soft-hearted actor still had not considered the theater as a career option, but after several years in the drama program, he decided
there was probably nothing else he was better suited to do, so he would try to make a living in the Windy City's unusually fertile theater scene.
"The C stands for Christopher. You can blame the union for that. The Screen Actors Guild make you do it if there's another member with the same
name. I wasn't going to change my name, so I just included the middle one. It was a decision I had to make on Casualties of War (1989), my first film in
1989. I got a phone call and had to fly out to Thailand where Brian De Palma was shooting and it was a sudden decision, and I'm stuck with it. So I'm
glad I didn't go for a stupid and exotic-sounding name just to grab attention, or you could be talking to a man named Tallulah or something".
1989 Casualties of War ... PFC Herbert Hatcher 1989 We're No Angels ... Young Monk 1990 Days of Thunder ... Buck Bretherton 1990 State of Grace ... Stevie McGuire 1991 Shadows and Fog ... Cop at Police Station 1992 Out on a Limb ... Jim Jr. 1992 Hoffa ... Pete Connelly 1993 What's Eating Gilbert Grape ... Tucker Van Dyke 1994 The River Wild ... Terry 1995 Dolores Claiborne ... Const. Frank Stamshaw 1995 Georgia ... Herman 1996 Hard Eight ... John 1996 Boys ... Officer Kellogg Curry 1997 Nightwatch ... Deputy Inspector Bill Davis (uncredited) 1997 Boogie Nights ... Reed Rothchild 1997 Chicago Cab ... Steve 1998 Flagpole Special (video short) 1998 The Thin Red Line ... Sgt. Storm 1999 Tenacious D (TV series) ... Sasquatch 1999 Never Been Kissed ... Gus 1999 The Settlement ... Pat 1999 For Love of the Game ... Gus Sinski 1999 Magnolia ... Officer Jim Kurring 2000 The Perfect Storm ... Dale 'Murph' Murphy 2001 The Anniversary Party ... Mac Forsyth 2001 Frank's Book (short) ... Frank 2002 The Good Girl ... Phil Last 2002 Gangs of New York ... Happy Jack Mulraney 2002 Chicago ... Amos Hart 2002 The Hours ... Dan Brown 2003 Reel Comedy (TV series) ... – Step Brothers 2003 Anger Management ... Older Arnie Shankman (uncredited) 2003 Piggie 2004 Cracking Up (TV series) ... Steve Evers 2004 Criminal ... Richard Gaddis 2004 The Aviator ... Noah Dietrich 2005 Are You the Favorite Person of Anybody? (short) 2005 Dark Water ... Mr. Murray 2006 A Prairie Home Companion ... Lefty 2006 Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby ... Cal Naughton Jr. 2006 Tom Goes to the Mayor (TV series) ... John 2006 Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny ... Sasquatch (uncredited) 2007 Year of the Dog ... Al 2007 Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story ... Dewey Cox 2008 Prop 8: The Musical (short) ... Prop 8 Leader 2008 Green Team (video short) ... Green Team Member 2008 Step Brothers ... Dale Doback 2008 The Promotion ... Richard Wehlner 2009 Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant ... Larten Crepsley 2009 Zombieland ... Bathroomzombie (uncredited) 2009 9 ... 5 (voice) 2010 The Extra Man ... Gershon Gruen 2010 Cyrus ... John 2010 Fight for Your Right Revisited (short) ... Mike D (B-Boys 2)
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Filmography
Awards
Delta's Choice Awards 2008 - Delta Best Comedic Performance For: Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards 2003 - Critics Choice Award Best Acting Ensemble for: Chicago
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards 2000 - FFCC Award Best Ensemble Cast for: Magnolia 1998 - FFCC Award Best Ensemble Cast for: Boogie Nights
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards 2007 - Sierra Award Best Song for: Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story 2003 - Sierra Award Best Supporting Actor for: Gangs of New York, The Hours, and Chicago
Los Angeles Silver Lake Film Festival 2003 - Spirit of Silver Lake Award
Screen Actors Guild Awards 2003 - Actor Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture for: Chicago
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