John C. Reilly

Character actor, dramatic leading man, or hilarious comic foil? With an astonishing range of roles already under his belt, 'John C. Reilly' (qv) 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)_ (qv), wherein 'Brian De Palma' (qv) 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)_ (qv), _Shadows and Fog (1991)_ (qv), _What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)_ (qv) and _The River Wild (1994)_ (qv). He became a major stock player in director 'Paul Thomas Anderson' (qv)'s films, while finding some of his best roles in _Hard Eight (1996)_ (qv) as a compulsive gambler, _Boogie Nights (1997)_ (qv) in which he played a narcissistic porn star, and in _Magnolia (1999)_ (qv) 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' (qv)'s war epic _The Thin Red Line (1998)_ (qv).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' (qv). Reilly finally received the film recognition he deserved in 2002 with a slew of choice, high-profile parts in _The Hours (2002)_ (qv), _The Good Girl (2002)_ (qv), _Gangs of New York (2002)_ (qv), and especially _Chicago (2002)_ (qv) as the put-upon husband, Amos Hart, who is played for a patsy by murderous wife Roxie ('Renée Zellweger' (qv)). 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)_ (qv), _The Aviator (2004)_ (qv) and _Carnage (2011)_ (qv) - to broader comic turns - _Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)_ (qv), _Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)_ (qv), _Step Brothers (2008)_ (qv), _Cyrus (2010)_ (qv) and _Cedar Rapids (2011)_ (qv). Most recently, he has voiced the lead in Disney's animated smash _Wreck-It Ralph (2012)_ (qv).Reilly is married to producer 'Alison Dickey' (qv).::Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net