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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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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
Way
Surprising
Never
Performance
Like
Performances
People
Boring
Expect
Movie
Place
Certain
Inherently

More quotes by John C. Reilly

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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.
John C. Reilly
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It's thought of as an eccentric thing for an actor to really try to maintain quality control through the whole career. Most people think, 'You just work. You just keep working.' And in some ways I wish I could be a guy who's just a workhorse.
John C. Reilly
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There is a level of fame that is really unmanageable. But most of the people who experience that level of fame are compensated in other ways. Private villas and chauffeured boats.
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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People say, 'Don't you get tired of people coming up to you all the time?' But what's wrong with strangers saying they love you?
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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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.
John C. Reilly
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I give as much as I can, and it's up to someone else to turn it into a movie. Good luck to you!
John C. Reilly
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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.
John C. Reilly
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To me, it doesn't make any sense to pick your work based on the size of the budget of the movie.
John C. Reilly
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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.
John C. Reilly
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I did a movie with Leonardo DiCaprio, and his skill level was eons ahead of mine. It was really more like an abattoir - he just slaughtered my character over and over again.
John C. Reilly
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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.
John C. Reilly
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I think just getting a movie done is an accomplishment in itself.
John C. Reilly
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A lot of times, good improv is when both people, or however many people are in the scene, really have no idea what the next thing you're going to say is.
John C. Reilly
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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.
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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Actually, acting turned out to be the perfect job for me, because I had a lot of different interests. I thought about being a priest at one point. I thought about being a teacher. I thought about being a lawyer. But I think acting is probably the best job for me.
John C. Reilly
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I always say it takes as much preparation and thought to do a small part as a leading part. In some ways, leads are easier because you have the luxury of time to discover the character.
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