May 21, 2012

Another Step Up for John C. Reilly

by Kyle Rupprecht | Published July 25, 2008

With his mass of curly hair and doughy face, John C. Reilly looks more like a bartender in a local pub than your typical movie star. Yet, it’s that regular-guy persona that makes Reilly such an endearing, successful character actor. Since his movie debut as a soldier in Brian De Palma’s Casualties of War, Reilly has proven that he can play a diverse array of characters—from Howard Hawks’ right-hand man, Noah Dietrich (The Aviator) to charming con men (Criminal), singing cowboys (A Prairie Home Companion), desperate, self-destructive businessmen (The Promotion) and, of course, lovable lunkheads, which have become his specialty.

In 2002, the ubiquitous Reilly was in three movies that were nominated for Oscars (and, coincidentally, all released in the same month)—Chicago (for which he received a nod for Best Supporting Actor), The Aviator and The Hours—proof that the actor has a truly golden touch when choosing material.

Reilly’s career has recently taken an unexpected turn, as the stage-trained thespian has proven to be surprisingly adept at playing larger-than-life characters in comedies like Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and his latest film, Step Brothers.

On the horizon, Reilly has once again switched genres, lending his talents to two high-profile fantasy films: He provides his voice for one of the characters in the animated sci-fi adventure 9, to be released in December, and later this year he’ll play a circus performer who also happens to be a vampire in Cirque du Freak.

In a 2004 cover story interview with MM, Reilly said, “There’s something good about being the underdog. I never want to be the top dog. I want to be the underdog because people are rooting for you.” While Reilly may not be considered an “underdog” by most, he’ll most certainly have audiences rooting for him for the rest of his career.

With his latest sure-to-be-a-comedy-hit, Step Brothers, MM takes a look back at some of Reilly’s most memorable performances.

Boogie Nights (1997)
John C. Reilly in Boogie Nights
After almost 10 years of bit parts, Reilly finally got the juicy supporting role he deserved as Reed Rothchild, the slightly dim-witted, delusional porn star/drug addict who dreams of being a magician. Reilly’s funny, poignant performance (much of which was improvised) was his second time working with friend/visionary moviemaker Paul Thomas Anderson. Reilly had a pivotal role in Anderson’s first film, Hard Eight, and joined him again for his third opus, Magnolia, in which, among the ensemble cast of liars and narcissists, he played one of the only truly likable characters: A caring, good-hearted police officer.