Chicago

Background:

“I grew up a Catholic and went regularly to church. When I made the decision to make acting my vocation, I used to joke that the theatre is my church now. But, especially doing live theatre where you have to do eight performances in six days, you really have to kind of live like a monk. Then you go to this big, dark place and experience emotions, and it's very spiritual.” John C. Reilly

After extended stage work and notable supporting parts in movies such as Brian De Palma's “Casualties of War” (1989), “State of Grace” (1990), “Days of Thunder” (1990), “What's Eating Gilbert Grape” (1993) and “The River Wild” (1994), one of the screen's most versatile and under-appreciated character actors, John C. Reilly, gained recognition and popularity as a result of his partnership with director Paul Thomas Anderson in the commercial and critical hit “Boogie Nights” (1997). Playing porn star Reed Rothchild, he jointly picked up a Florida Film Critics Circle Award and a SAG nomination. First collaborating in 1996's “Hard Eight,” the pair rejoined in 1999 for the Oscar nominee “Magnolia,” from which Reilly jointly picked up a Florida Film Critics Circle Award and a SAG nomination. The quick-witted performer's profile increased significantly in 2002 when he had supporting roles in three of the year's Academy Award Best Picture nominees: “Gangs of New York,” “The Hours” and “Chicago.” Reilly was nominated for an Oscar and Golden Globe Award for his role as Renée Zellweger's trusting husband in the musical “Chicago” and won a Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award. Reilly has also acted in such movies as “The Aviator” (2004), “Dark Water” (2005), “A Prairie Home Companion” (2006), “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” (2006), “Year of the Dog” (2007), “Quebec” (2007), “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” (2007), “Step Brothers” (2008) and the animated feature “9” (2008, voice).

On stage, Reilly received a Tony nomination and an Outer Critics Circle Award for his work in a revival of Sam Shepard's “True West” (2000). He also impressed audiences in “The Grapes of Wrath” on Broadway, and “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “Othello” at Steppenwolf.

Off screen, Reilly has been married to producer Alison Dickey since 1992 and has two children with her.

Chicago White Sox's Fan

Childhood and Family:

John Christopher Reilly was born on May 24, 1965, in Chicago, Illinois, to an Irish-American father and Lithuanian mother. Along with his five siblings (two sister and three brothers), he was raised in the Catholic religion in Marquette Park, a blue-collar area of Chicago. His father operated a linen supply company. After graduating from Brother Rice High School, John attended the prestigious Goodman School of Drama at DePaul University, where he found a knack for theater. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1987.

John met Alison Dickey, a movie producer, while he was filming 1989's “Casualties of War.” They married in 1992 and currently have two children. John is a fan of the Chicago White Sox team.

Boogie Nights

Career:

John C. Reilly began acting in community theater when he was eight years old, but his first experience on the stage arrived later as an undergraduate at the famed Goodman School of Drama. Reilly made his professional debut with Chicago's Organic Theatre, in which he also penned and directed a string of monologues, “Walkin' the Boogie,” before joining the Steppenwolf Theatre. With the renowned company, he appeared in “Othello” and played Noah Joad, Tom's brother, in “The Grapes of Wrath,” a role he later reprised for Broadway.

In 1989, Reilly made his big screen debut with the pivotal role of Herbert Hatcher in Brian De Palma's “Casualties of War,” opposite Michael J. Fox and Sean Penn. Reilly went on to play small roles in films like “We're No Angels” (1989), as a young monk, and Woody Allen's “Shadow and Fog” (1992) and was unforgettable for portraying Stevie McGuire in “State of Grace,” which reunited him with star Penn, and as the pit crew chief of Tom Cruise in the car-race drama “Days of Thunder” (both 1990). He also gained attention for his roles as Johnny Depp's friend in the 1993 Peter Hedges-written “What's Eating Gilbert Grape” and the co-conspirator of Kevin Bacon in 1994's “The River Wild,” starring Meryl Streep. In 1995, he teamed up with Jennifer Jason Leigh for a couple of projects, namely “Dolores Claiborne,” where he was cast as a lawman named Frank Stamshaw, and “Georgia,” in which he convincingly played a self-destructive drug addict.

Reilly had made a name for himself as a rising talent by the mid 1990s. However, it was the professional affiliation Reilly made with the then-unknown Paul Thomas Anderson that later helped shape the actor's career. In “Hard Eight” (1996), Anderson's feature length directorial debut, Reilly starred opposite Philip Baker Hall and earned extensive praise for his work. In 1997, the admittedly soft-hearted performer booked a critical and commercial success with Anderson's follow-up, “Boogie Nights.” Set in the 1970s world of porn filmmaking, the film saw Reilly give a stand-out performance as Reed Rothchild, a porn star with dreams of becoming a magician/songwriter. The role brought the actor a Florida Film Critics Circle for Best Ensemble Cast and a SAG nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast. Among his costars in the movie were Mark Wahlberg, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore and Heather Graham.

Following performances in Terrence Malick's ensemble, “The Thin Red Line” (1998), the crime comedy “The Settlement” (1999), as well as in the romances “For Love of the Game” and “Never Been Kissed” (both 1999), Reilly reunited with Anderson for 1999's “Magnolia,” which won Anderson an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Playing a sweet natured cop named Jim Kurring, he jointly picked up a 2000 Florida Film Critics Circle in the category of Best Ensemble Cast and a SAG nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Theatrical Motion Picture. In 1998, Reilly made a rare TV appearance on an episode of the CBS drama “Martial Law.”

Next up for Reilly was a supporting role opposite George Clooney, Diane Lane and Wahlberg in Wolfgang Petersen’s sad sea adventure “The Perfect Storm” (2000). He and Hoffman were reunited that same year for the Broadway staging of Sam Shepard's play, “True West.” During the course of the play’s run, the two alternated in leading roles and each received Tony nominations as Best Actor in a Play. Reilly also won an Outer Critics Circle Award for his work in the play. The following year, he netted an Independent Spirit nomination for Best Supporting Male for Alan Cumming/Jennifer Jason Leigh's “The Anniversary Party.”

2002 marked a banner year with high-profile roles in four films. In the film “The Good Girl,” he was cast in the supporting role of Jennifer Aniston's unsuspecting pot smoking husband and nabbed an Independent Spirit and Golden Satellite nomination for his work in the movie. He then played the clean-cut, but controlling, husband of Julianne Moore in “The Hours” and Happy Jack in Martin Scorsese's period drama “The Gangs of New York.” Reilly is best recognized for his turn as Amos Hart, the husband of an accused murderess, in the movie adaptation of the hit musical “Chicago.” The bright performance won the actor Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He also picked up a Las Vegas Film Critics Society for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in the latter three films and shared a SAG Award and a Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for “Chicago.”

After spending much of 2003 off camera, Reilly made a strong comeback in 2004 with roles in “Criminal,” an English-language version of the Argentine hit “Nine Queens” by Fabián Bielinsky, and “The Aviator” (2004), Scorsese’s biopic of the legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes (played by Leonardo DiCaprio). He went on to deliver a fine turn as a chummy landlord in the thriller “Dark Water” (2005) before joining the ensemble cast for Robert Altman's “A Prairie Home Companion” (2006) and playing Will Ferrell's childhood buddy in “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” (2006). More recently, in 2007, he acted alongside Molly Shannon and Laura Dern in Mike White's “Year of the Dog,” which was screened at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2007. He could also be seen in several episodes of the TV comedy series “Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!” (2007).

Reilly has recently completed filming the comedy film “Quebec” (2007) and has a project in post-production called “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” (2007), where he plays the title role. The 42-year-old actor is also set to star with Will Farrell in the comedy “Step Brothers” (2008) and provide his vocals for the animated movie “9” (2008), directed by Shane Acker.

“The truth is a million things can go wrong between the beginning and the end of the making of a movie. I used to try to find a script I thought would make a good movie. Now, I try to find a character I connect with. As much as we all complain about auditions, they're an important part of the process and give you your only glimpse at whether you have anything in common with a director or not.” John C Reilly

Awards:

• Screen Actors Guild: Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture, “Chicago,” 2003

• Las Vegas Film Critics Society: Sierra, Best Supporting Actor, “Gangs of New York,” “The Hours” and “Chicago,” 2003

• Broadcast Film Critics Association: Critics Choice, Best Acting Ensemble, “Chicago,” 2003

• Florida Film Critics Circle: Best Ensemble Cast, “Magnolia,” 2000

• Florida Film Critics Circle: Best Ensemble Cast, “Boogie Nights,” 1998