“I mean I was very shy but I was also very extroverted because I was doing plays. I'd been doing plays since I was a little kid. But, I did feel like an outsider because I went to like a 'college-prep' kind of high school that had a really big football team and was known for its program so I was like this weird boy that did plays.” FeelsKindMeanLittlesPlayBigsKidsSchoolKnownBoysTeamFootballCollegeHigh SchoolProgramShyOutsidersLittle KidFootball TeamPreps Author:John C. Reilly
“I actually envy actors who have a persona: 'This is the way I am. This is the part I play.' And do it over and over and over. To me, that's a lot easier than trying to reinvent yourself every six months.” WayTryingPlayActorsMonthsEasierSixEnvySix MonthsPersonaReinventing Yourself Author:John C. Reilly
“I would consider directing. I think directing myself would be tough, but I'm definitely interested in directing. I might start off directing a play before I move to a film.” ThinkingPlayMightWould BeFilmMovingTough Author:John C. Reilly
“For a while I had a blues band in L.A., but I realized I was too optimistic to play the blues. I did not have the misery in my heart that the blues required.” HeartPlayMy HeartBandMiseryI RealizedOptimistic Author:John C. Reilly
“Movies are this thing that came into my life, and it still feels pretend in some way. I kind of do this thing, and I never really accepted this idea that I'm a film actor. That's what I do. I feel like I'm a theater actor that started doing films. Most people have never seen me in a play. They're fun, though.” PeopleWayFeelsKindStillsIdeasPlayFilmActorsFunTheaterAcceptedFilm Actors Author:John C. Reilly
“I kinda taught myself how to play guitar, and I still play to this day. It's become a pretty big part of my life.” StillsPlayBigsTaughtGuitarThis Day 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 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
“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
“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
