“I come from a pretty working-class neighborhood in Chicago. Hard work was just expected of you. It wasn't some noble thing you did; it was a prerequisite. It's what a man did. You get up, you put on your boots, and you work hard. We've lost a lot of that, I'm afraid.” MenHardLostClassHard WorkNobleExpectedGet UpNeighborhoodChicagoBootsWorking ClassPrerequisites Author:John C. Reilly
“I considered a lot of different jobs as a kid. I thought about becoming a priest or a lawyer. My father had a big linen-supply business and I considered working for him. What dawned on me was: 'If I'm an actor, I get to do the fun parts of every job!' Without having to go to four years of law school.” IfsYearsDifferentBigsKidsSchoolJobsLawActorsFatherFunFourBecomingLawyerPriestsFour YearsLaw SchoolDifferent JobsLinen Author:John C. Reilly
“I don't really get off on the anonymous love of strangers, which I think a lot of actors do. They're lacking something in their own personal lives, so they want the adoration of autographs and all that stuff.” ThinkingWantActorsStuffStrangerLackingPersonal LifeAdorationAutographsLacking Something Author:John C. Reilly
“I grew up listening to a lot of player-piano music in my house and a lot of old Tin Pan Alley songs and American standards. My dad listened to a lot of traditional Irish music and I grew up doing musical theater. So most of the music I was exposed to as a kid was pre-rock n' roll.” KidsSongHousePlayerRocksListeningGrewDadGrew UpStandardsTheaterMusicalMy DadTraditionalPianoExposedRock N RollAlleysTinMusical TheaterPiano MusicPlayer PianoIrish MusicTin Pan Alley Author:John C. Reilly
“I know I'm not some matinee idol, but I think we're sold this bill of goods by the media, which says that only the most beautiful and dashing people can become movie stars. So when someone like me sneaks in, they have to redo the calculations.” PeopleThinkingKnowsBeautifulStarsMediaBillsLike MeGoodsIdolsMovie StarCalculationsSneakDashingSneak InRedos Author:John C. Reilly
“I like working. I wish I could say I made a deliberate choice to comedy, but it's just what came my way. It's what the studios wanted to make. Some of my friends were doing it, like Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, and they offered me 'Talladega Nights.' It's just nice work if you can get it. It's a joyful day at work, making your friends laugh.” IfsWayMadeWantedNightChoicesWishLaughingComedyNiceMy FriendsStudiosMy WayAdamJoyfulDeliberateNice Work Author:John C. Reilly
“I listen to a lot of Chicago blues, I suppose. It reminds me of growing up, I guess. But I'm also obsessed by close-harmony groups. Actually, I'm fascinated particularly by brother duos, how they blend together. The Everly Brothers, the Stanley Brothers, The McQuarrys. There's something inherently magical about harmony.” TogetherGrowing UpGrowingGroupsBrotherHarmonyObsessedChicagoFascinatedStanleyDuosEverly BrothersChicago Blues Author:John C. Reilly
“I love card games, and I've always loved board games and stuff like that as a kid, and I think it's that part of your brain that's engaged in con movies. It's like this 'Who's outsmarting whom?'” ThinkingKidsGamesStuffBrainCardsBoardsEngagedBoard Games Author:John C. Reilly
“I swear and it comes off a little angry, no matter how funny I'm trying to do it. If I use certain words with a certain intensity, it's like 'Whoa whoa whoa, buddy buddy!'” IfsTryingLittlesMatterUseCertainAngryIntensitySwearBuddy Author:John C. Reilly
“I was a founding member of the 'Dungeons and Dragons' club at my high school. I was in chorus, I was in swing choir. I was an outcast but I was an outcast among a group of outcasts.” SchoolGroupsMembersHigh SchoolClubsDragonsSwingsFoundingChorusOutcastChoirDungeonsDungeons And Dragons Author:John C. Reilly
“I was a solid C student because I was doing so many plays. I was a drama nerd, but I was also kind of a Zelig-like character; I would shift between different groups of people. But the people I spent most of my time with were either chorus or swing choir or the drama nerds.” PeopleKindDifferentPlayCharacterGroupsStudentsDramaMy TimeSwingsNerdChorusChoir Author:John C. Reilly
“I was more like a middle child. My youngest brother was the baby, so he got all the attention that the baby gets. And my older brothers were getting into so much trouble that I was left in the middle, doing plays. I was up to no good, but my mother didn't know it!” KnowsChildrenPlayMotherLeftAttentionTroubleMiddleBrotherBabyOlder BrotherMiddle Child Author:John C. Reilly
“I went to an all-boys Catholic school, and not only were we not allowed to wear pajamas, we had to wear dress shirts, dress pants, a tie, dress shoes... they stopped making us wear blazers, like, two years before I started there, so pajamas... you wouldn't even get in the front door wearing pajamas at my school.” YearsTwoSchoolBoysDoorsFrontsCatholicDressesShoesShirtsTiesTwo YearsPantsFront DoorsPajamasCatholic SchoolBlazers Author:John C. Reilly
“I would love to do a western. I would love to play an explorer. That is always something that has really captured my imagination since I was a kid, like James Cook or Magellan or Earnest Shackleton.” PlayKidsImaginationWesternCooksEarnestMy ImaginationCapturedExplorersMagellanShackleton Author:John C. Reilly
“I'm dating myself by saying this, but I was the test audience for 'Space Invaders.' I remember when that was the first game that wasn't a pinball game. I spent a lot of money on 'Space Invaders,' in the form of quarters, of course.” FirstsRememberFormCoursesGamesSpaceAudienceTestsDatingQuartersLots Of MoneyRemember WhenInvadersPinballSpace Invaders Author:John C. Reilly
“I'm not a big fan of kids' movies that have this knowing snarkiness to them or this post-modern take on storytelling. I think that sails right over the heads of most kids. There's something to be said for a well-told fairy tale. There's a reason that these mythic stories stay with us.” ThinkingWellsSaidReasonStoriesBigsKidsKnowingFansModernTalesStorytellingPostsFairyFairy TaleSailKids Movie Author:John C. Reilly
“I've never been someone who's been given work because of the way I look or because I have some box office appeal. I get work because people know I'm swinging as hard as I can, trying to connect, giving it my level best. I have a face for radio, but here I am doing what I do.” PeopleKnowsWayGivingTryingLooksI CanHardFacesGivenLevelsOfficeRadioBoxesAppealsHere I AmBox Office Author:John C. Reilly
“If you're really being honest with yourself when you're acting, part of it is touching the real you. You can only separate yourself so much from the character. Those vulnerable moments do touch me.” IfsRealMomentsCharacterActingHonestVulnerableBeing HonestTouchingTouch MeReal YouHonest With YourselfBe Honest With Yourself Author:John C. Reilly
“In Chicago it's really a case of the play's the thing - people are just so happy to be acting, you know? We were all actors - not like in New York or Los Angeles, where everyone says they are actors but they are actually waiting tables and hustling for spots in commercials.” PeopleKnowsPlayActorsWaitingActingCasesNew YorkTablesSpotsLos AngelesChicagoHustleWaiting Tables Author:John C. Reilly
“Just look around, in life, there's people who want to date people who look like themselves, and there are people who are just looking for a good fit. And a lot of times, a good fit is someone different than yourself. I'm not one to get too hung up on outside appearances. I find people attractive for more subtle reasons than just the way they look.” PeopleWayWantLooksDifferentReasonFitAppearanceAttractiveSubtleHung Author:John C. Reilly
“Most boys' first hero is their father. That was definitely true of my dad. He was a proud Irish American and he taught me a lot about ethics and responsibility. He also introduced me to a lot of wonderful folk music.” FirstsFatherResponsibilityBoysWonderfulTaughtProudHeroDadEthicsMy DadFolksFolk Music Author:John C. Reilly
“One of the reasons people find me a believable actor is that I don't seem like one of the gods from Olympus. I seem like someone who was lucky enough to be let into Olympus.” PeopleReasonEnoughSeemsActorsLuckyFind MeBelievableOlympus Author:John C. Reilly
“That's one of the difficult things of being an actor that I'm still not used to. You have to go, you have to show up at these places where you know nobody, and sometimes with really impressive, high stakes people like Roman Polanski.” PeopleKnowsStillsSometimesShowsUsedActorsDifficultStakesImpressiveDifficult Things Author:John C. Reilly
“The thing I tried to remember when I was younger was 'Do something that's at least as good, if not better, than the last thing you did.' So I started with Brian De Palma and Sean Penn. I had a pretty high bar to start with.” IfsLastsRememberBarsRemember WhenBrianSean Author:John C. Reilly
“The truth is that filmmaking is not really an actor's medium; it's really a director's medium, so all I can really control is the character that I'm playing. So I try to look for characters that are interesting and engaging and different than what I've done before and hopefully it becomes a good movie.” TryingLooksI CanDifferentDoneCharacterActorsInterestingTruth IsDirectorsMediumsHopefullyFilmmakingEngagingGood Movie Author:John C. Reilly
“This is real human drama, we're not creating some amusement park ride for the summer. Even though the movie is really exciting to watch, it's got a real pathos behind it.” HumansRealBehindsWatchesDramaSummerCreatingExcitingParksAmusementPathosReal HumanAmusement Parks Author:John C. Reilly
“Whatever the reasons that I turn things down, I'm always happy when there's a good result, and I can enjoy it as a movie, you know? I don't feel like, 'Oh man, that was really good. I should have done it.' You have to make the decisions you have to make, whether it has to do with your family or repeating a character or whatever it is.” KnowsMenFeelsShouldI CanReasonDoneCharacterTurnsEnjoyDecisionResultsShould HaveAlways Happy Author:John C. Reilly
“When I first joined SAG, there was another John Reilly. My dad was John Reilly, too, but growing up I was John John. Nobody in life calls me John C. It's more like, "Hey you, Step Brother!"” FirstsStepsGrowing UpGrowingBrotherDadMy DadHeyCall MeHey You Author:John C. Reilly
“You know, the truth is that us actors would all like to believe we re-invent the wheel, every time we play a character. But, we're human beings and our instruments are not violins, they are our bodies and our consciousness and our collective life experience.” KnowsBelieveHumansPlayCharacterBodyActorsHuman BeingsConsciousnessTruth IsInstrumentsWheelsCollectivesLife ExperienceViolin Author:John C. Reilly
“You were there all day long, 12 hours a day. So there was none of this, 'I'm going back to my trailer, my trailer's bigger than your trailer,' that kind of Hollywood nonsense.” KindLongHoursWalkingHollywoodBiggerNonsenseTrailers Author:John C. Reilly
“There is something about the water - that solitary kind of peaceful feeling. You're on earth but not quite.” LoveKindFeelingsEarthPeaceWaterPeacefulSolitary Author:John C. Reilly
“One of the unique things is that whether we were out at sea or in the middle of the water tank, a lot of times you just couldn't leave. Especially when we were out at sea.” WaterSeaMiddleUniqueTanksUnique Things Author:John C. Reilly
“Really if you look at my filmography, there's something for everyone!” IfsLooks Author:John C. Reilly
