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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!

John C. Reilly

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John C. Reilly
Age: 59
Born: 1965
Born: May 24
Actor
Character Actor
Film Actor
Film Producer
Screenwriter
Singer
Stage Actor
Television Actor
Voice Actor
Chicago
Illinois
John Christopher Reilly
Nobody
Reilly
Steps
Joined
Growing
Hey
Another
Calls
Firsts
John
First
Dad
Life
Step
Like
Brother

More quotes by John C. Reilly

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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.
John C. Reilly
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Why people pick me for the roles that they do is a bit of a mystery.
John C. Reilly
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I don't know how to be like a Bill Murray or a Will Ferrell, these guys who know how to make a line funny just by, I don't know, some extra-sense perception. I only know character and emotion and real acting that's all I know how to do.
John C. Reilly
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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.
John C. Reilly
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A lot of people that make films say, 'We need this kind of character. Who's done it before? Get them to do it again.' That is exactly what actors are pushing against. It's kind of a cliche to talk about being stereotyped in that way, but it happens.
John C. Reilly
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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.
John C. Reilly
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Hey, I'm just trying to become the Michael Caine/Gene Hackman of my generation.
John C. Reilly
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Surprising people is the key to career longevity for someone like me.
John C. Reilly
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I'm a big fan of not letting the audience of off the hook, as they say. I like it when things feel real, and that's oftentimes not comfortable.
John C. Reilly
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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.
John C. Reilly
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I just like surprising people. I never want to get to a place where people see that I am in a movie and they go see the movie and they expect a certain performance one way or the other. That is just inherently boring to me.
John C. Reilly
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An actor's life is like a series of - it's like the first day of school happening over and over again.
John C. Reilly
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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!'
John C. Reilly
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I really enjoy my time off. If I'm going to go to work, it has to be something I really believe in, or else it's totally tedious.
John C. Reilly
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I view my strongest competition as myself. You're always trying to top yourself, rather than worrying about what other people are doing.
John C. Reilly
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I'm bored by repeating myself, and I would imagine that an audience would be bored by me repeating myself.
John C. Reilly
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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.
John C. Reilly
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I find people attractive for more subtle reasons than just the way they look.
John C. Reilly
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I was thinking maybe about being a lawyer. I realized I was interested in becoming a priest at one point. I was just interested in stuff where I could do something I really believed in. And then, I realized if I become an actor, I don't have to choose. I get to do everything. It's worked out so far. But what I really want to do is direct.
John C. Reilly
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There are a lot of actors in the world, there's a small number that actually get to work as actors, and there is a tiny group of actors that are celebrated in the way that I have been. I feel incredibly lucky.
John C. Reilly