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IMDbPro

John C. Reilly(I)

  • Actor
  • Writer
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,00082
John C. Reilly
Here's a look back at the various roles John C. Reilly has played throughout his acting career.
Play clip1:42
John C. Reilly | Career Retrospective
99+ Videos
99+ Photos
Character actor, dramatic leading man, or hilarious comic foil? With an astonishing range of roles already under his belt, John C. Reilly has played an eclectic host of rich characters to great effect over the years, from seedy ne'er-do-wells, to lovable, good-natured schlepps.

The fifth of six children, John Christopher Reilly was born in Chicago, to a father of mostly Irish descent, and a Lithuanian-American mother, and was brought up on Chicago's tough Southwest territory. His father, also named John, ran an industrial linen supply company business. On the amateur stage from age eight, Reilly trained at the Goodman School of Drama and eventually became a member of Chicago's renowned Steppenwolf Theatre.

His film break came with a small role in the Vietnam War drama Casualties of War (1989), wherein Brian De Palma liked his work so much during the early stages that he recast him in a major role by the start of shooting as a soldier bent on rape. Reilly gained momentum throughout the 1990s and showed his dazzling stretch of talent in such films as Days of Thunder (1990), Shadows and Fog (1991), What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) and The River Wild (1994). He became a major stock player in director Paul Thomas Anderson's films, while finding some of his best roles in Hard Eight (1996) as a compulsive gambler, Boogie Nights (1997) in which he played a narcissistic porn star, and in Magnolia (1999) as a compassionate policeman. He went on to earn further critical points for his role of the soldier sent to the front lines in Terrence Malick's war epic The Thin Red Line (1998).

On stage, Reilly has wowed audiences in "The Grapes of Wrath" on Broadway, "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "Othello" at Steppenwolf, and earned an Outer Critics Circle Award and Tony nomination for "True West" alongside another impeccable character player Philip Seymour Hoffman. Reilly finally received the film recognition he deserved in 2002 with a slew of choice, high-profile parts in The Hours (2002), The Good Girl (2002), Gangs of New York (2002), and especially Chicago (2002) as the put-upon husband, Amos Hart, who is played for a patsy by murderous wife Roxie (Renée Zellweger). For this last part, he received both Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor.

Since then his stock has risen considerably, and he has further widened his cinematic repertoire, appearing in everything from dramatic roles - We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011), The Aviator (2004) and Carnage (2011) - to broader comic turns - Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), Step Brothers (2008), Cyrus (2010) and Cedar Rapids (2011). Most recently, he has voiced the lead in Disney's animated smash Wreck-It Ralph (2012).

Reilly is married to producer Alison Dickey.
BornMay 24, 1965
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornMay 24, 1965
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,00082
  • Unlock contact info on IMDbPro
  • Nominated for 1 Oscar
    • 22 wins & 57 nominations total

The Greatest Character Actors of All Time

The Greatest Character Actors of All Time

Jennifer Coolidge, Danny Trejo, Uzo Aduba, and more familar faces you've seen in everything.
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Photos

Photos630

John C. Reilly and Andy Hirsch in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (2022)
Sally Field and John C. Reilly in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (2022)
John C. Reilly and Adrien Brody in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (2022)
John C. Reilly, Brett Cullen, and Jason Segel in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (2022)
John C. Reilly in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (2022)
John C. Reilly and Michael Chiklis in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (2022)
John C. Reilly, Stephen Adly Guirgis, and Shaylaren Hilton in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (2022)
John C. Reilly in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (2022)
Sally Field and John C. Reilly in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (2022)
John C. Reilly in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (2022)
John C. Reilly and Quincy Isaiah in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (2022)
John C. Reilly in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (2022)

Known for

Richard Gere, Renée Zellweger, and Catherine Zeta-Jones in Chicago (2002)
Chicago
7.2
  • Amos Hart
  • 2002
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Guardians of the Galaxy
8.0
  • Corpsman Dey
  • 2014
Julianne Moore, Burt Reynolds, and Heather Graham in Boogie Nights (1997)
Boogie Nights
7.9
  • Reed Rothchild
  • 1997
John C. Reilly, Tim Meadows, Matt Besser, and Chris Parnell in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
6.8
  • Dewey Cox
  • 2007

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Stars at Noon (2022)
    Stars at Noon
    • American Magazine Editor
    • 2022
  • John C. Reilly and Quincy Isaiah in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (2022)
    Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty
    • Jerry Buss
    • TV Series
    • 2022
  • O Night Divine (2021)
    O Night Divine
    • Kristof
    • Short
    • 2021
  • Sean Penn, Tom Waits, Christine Ebersole, Bradley Cooper, Harriet Sansom Harris, Maya Rudolph, Nate Mann, Cooper Hoffman, Benny Safdie, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Skyler Gisondo, and Alana Haim in Licorice Pizza (2021)
    Licorice Pizza
    • Herman Munster
    • 2021
  • Ultra City Smiths (2021)
    Ultra City Smiths
    • Donovan Smith
    • TV Series
    • 2021
  • John C. Reilly, Fred Armisen, and Tim Heidecker in Moonbase 8 (2020)
    Moonbase 8
    • Cap
    • TV Series
    • 2020
  • Ralph Fiennes, John C. Reilly, Will Ferrell, Rob Brydon, Steve Coogan, and Rebecca Hall in Holmes & Watson (2018)
    Holmes & Watson
    • Dr. Watson
    • 2018
  • John C. Reilly, Ming-Na Wen, Brad Garrett, Irene Bedard, Kristen Bell, Jodi Benson, Corey Burton, Bill Hader, Jennifer Hale, Taraji P. Henson, Linda Larkin, Jane Lynch, Kelly Macdonald, Idina Menzel, Mandy Moore, Paige O'Hara, Anika Noni Rose, Sarah Silverman, Alan Tudyk, Pamela Ribon, Jack McBrayer, Kate Higgins, Gal Gadot, Timothy Simons, Ali Wong, Sean Giambrone, and Auli'i Cravalho in Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)
    Ralph Breaks the Internet
    • Ralph (voice)
    • 2018
  • John C. Reilly and Steve Coogan in Stan & Ollie (2018)
    Stan & Ollie
    • Oliver Hardy
    • 2018
  • John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix in The Sisters Brothers (2018)
    The Sisters Brothers
    • Eli Sisters
    • 2018
  • Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job! Awesome 10 Year Anniversary Version, Great Job? (2017)
    Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job! Awesome 10 Year Anniversary Version, Great Job?
    • Dr. Steve Brule
    • TV Movie
    • 2017
  • Lil Dicky: Pillow Talking (2017)
    Lil Dicky: Pillow Talking
    • God
    • Music Video
    • 2017
  • Eddie's Life Coach (2017)
    Eddie's Life Coach
    • Eddie (voice)
    • Video
    • 2017
  • John C. Reilly, Fred Armisen, Molly Shannon, Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Kate Micucci, and Aubrey Plaza in The Little Hours (2017)
    The Little Hours
    • Father Tommasso
    • 2017
  • Kong: Skull Island (2017)
    Kong: Skull Island
    • Hank Marlow
    • 2017

Writer

  • John C. Reilly, Fred Armisen, and Tim Heidecker in Moonbase 8 (2020)
    Moonbase 8
    • created by
    • written by
    • co-creator (creator)
    • TV Series
    • 2020
  • John C. Reilly in Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule (2010)
    Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule
    • created by
    • written by
    • creator
    • TV Series
    • 2010–2017
  • Bagboy (2015)
    Bagboy
    • created by
    • written by (creator)
    • TV Movie
    • 2015
  • hunt9100
    • story
    • TV Series
    • 2012
  • John C. Reilly and Will Ferrell in Step Brothers (2008)
    Step Brothers
    • story
    • 2008

Producer

  • John C. Reilly, Fred Armisen, and Tim Heidecker in Moonbase 8 (2020)
    Moonbase 8
    • executive producer
    • TV Series
    • 2020
  • John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix in The Sisters Brothers (2018)
    The Sisters Brothers
    • producer
    • 2018
  • John C. Reilly in Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule (2010)
    Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule
    • executive producer
    • TV Series
    • 2010–2017
  • Stone Quackers (2014)
    Stone Quackers
    • executive producer
    • TV Series
    • 2014–2015
  • Bagboy (2015)
    Bagboy
    • executive producer
    • TV Movie
    • 2015
  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Videos159

The Cast of "Winning Time" Answer Burning Questions
Clip 2:34
The Cast of "Winning Time" Answer Burning Questions
John C. Reilly | Career Retrospective
Clip 1:42
John C. Reilly | Career Retrospective
Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly Solve Movie Mysteries
Clip 1:48
Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly Solve Movie Mysteries
The Cast of 'Holmes & Watson' Answer IMDb Fan Questions
Clip 2:22
The Cast of 'Holmes & Watson' Answer IMDb Fan Questions
John C. Reilly and Steven Coogan Show Us the Real 'Stan & Ollie'
Clip 2:04
John C. Reilly and Steven Coogan Show Us the Real 'Stan & Ollie'
Now Playing
Clip 1:03
Now Playing
Sneak Peek
Clip 1:01
Sneak Peek
"What They Were Arguing About"
Clip 1:33
"What They Were Arguing About"
"I Am the Context"
Clip 1:22
"I Am the Context"
"An Acquired Taste"
Clip 1:49
"An Acquired Taste"
Cirque du Freak: "Murlaugh Abducts Darren"
Clip 1:00
Cirque du Freak: "Murlaugh Abducts Darren"
Cirque du Freak: "Crepsley and Murlaugh Fight"
Clip 0:41
Cirque du Freak: "Crepsley and Murlaugh Fight"

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative name
    • John Reilly
  • Height
    • 6′ 1½″ (1.87 m)
  • Born
    • May 24, 1965
    • Chicago, Illinois, USA
  • Spouse
    • Alison Dickey1992 - present (2 children)
  • Children
      Leo Reilly
  • Parents
      John Reilly Sr
  • Other works
    Appeared in Fiona Apple's "Across The Universe" music video
  • Publicity listings
    • 7 Interviews
    • 16 Articles
    • 4 Pictorials
    • 1 Magazine Cover Photo

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    John is a wonderful singer who came out of a musical theater background. He did all of his own singing in Chicago (2002).
  • Quotes
    (On his reputation as "character actor" rather than leading man): I think there's something about me...that people can relate to. And, you know, beauty can be its own prison.
  • Trademark
      Curly brown hair

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