John C. Reilly, a character actor, dramatic leading man, or hilarious comic foil, has played an eclectic host of rich characters over the years. He was born in Chicago, the fifth of six children, to a father of mostly Irish descent and a Lithuanian-American mother.
Reilly's father ran an industrial linen supply company business, and he was brought up on Chicago's tough Southwest territory. He trained at the Goodman School of Drama and 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),and he gained momentum throughout the 1990s. He showed his dazzling stretch of talent in films such as Days of Thunder (1990),Shadows and Fog (1991),What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993),and The River Wild (1994).
Reilly became a major stock player in director Paul Thomas Anderson's films, finding some of his best roles in Hard Eight (1996),Boogie Nights (1997),and Magnolia (1999). He earned further critical points for his role in Terrence Malick's war epic The Thin Red Line (1998).
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 Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Reilly received the film recognition he deserved in 2002 with a slew of choice, high-profile parts in The Hours (2002),The Good Girl (2002),Gangs of New York (2002),and Chicago (2002). He received both Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Chicago.
Since then, his stock has risen considerably, and he has further widened his cinematic repertoire, appearing in everything from dramatic roles to broader comic turns. He has voiced the lead in Disney's animated smash Wreck-It Ralph (2012).
Reilly is married to producer Alison Dickey.
