John C. Reilly

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John Christopher Reilly was born on May 24, 1965, in Chicago, Illinois. On stage since he was eight, Reilly studied at DePaul University’s Goodman School of Drama graduating in 1987. He then went on to became a member of Chicago’s renowned Steppenwolf Theatre.

He made his feature film debut in 1989’s Casualties Of War starring Michael J. Fox and Sean Penn. Also that year, he appeared in We’re No Angels with Robert De Niro, Sean Penn and Demi Moore. He followed this with roles in Days Of Thunder with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, State of Grace, Woody Allen’s Shadows and Fog with Mia Farrow and John Malkovich, and 1992’s Hoffa with Jack Nicholson and Danny DeVito.

The next year, John appeared in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape with Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio and in 1994 made The River Wild with Meryl Streep and Kevin Bacon. 1995 saw Reilly work in Dolores Claiborne with Kathy Bates and Jennifer Jason Leigh and Georgia with Leigh and Mare Winningham.

In 1997, he would gain a lot of attention playing the wannabe magician porn star in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights whose ensemble cast featured Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, Heather Graham, Burt Reynolds, William H. Macy, Don Cheadle and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The next year, he was seen in Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line alongside George Clooney, Nick Nolte and Adrien Brody.

He had a busy year on screen in 1999 with the release of The Settlement, Never Been Kissed with Drew Barrymore and Michael Vartan, For Love of the Game with Jimmy Fallon and, teaming up with Paul Thomas Anderson again, Magnolia with Tom Cruise, Julianne Moore, Jason Robards, William H. Macy and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

2000’s The Perfect Storm was next with George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg. He was then cast in Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh’s The Anniversary Party, an indie flick that also starred Phoebe Cates and Kevin Kline. He gained more recognition opposite Jennifer Aniston in 2002’s The Good Girl with Jake Gyllenhaal. That year would prove to be one full of critically-acclaimed releases: Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York with Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis and Cameron Diaz, Chicago with Renée Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones (earning him best supporting actor nominations from the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards) and The Hours, which starred Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore. He starred in 2004’s Criminal with Diego Luna and Maggie Gyllenhaal and then went on to appear in Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator with Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett and Kate Beckinsale.

He played the questionable landlord in 2005’s Dark Water with Jennifer Connelly. In 2006, he was part of the ensemble in Robert Altman’s A Prairie Home Companion and played Will Ferrell’s race car buddy in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby which also featured Gary Cole and Leslie Bibb. He once again had audiences in stitches as Dewey Cox in 2007’s Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, a spoof of musical biopics.

In 2008, Reilly starred with Seann William Scott in The Promotion and reteamed with Will Ferrell for Step Brothers.

He married Alison Dickey in 1992. The couple have two children.

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