With a homely mug, lumbering gait and unruly mop of curly hair tailor-made for offbeat character work, John C. Reilly played a host of seamy characters to great effect over the years. Of late, however, he has defied the odds by drawing in the ladies with his touching "common man" portrayals of lovable, good-natured schlepps. The fifth of six children born to an Irish father and Lithuanian mother, Reilly was brought up on Chicago's tough Southwest territory. On the amateur stage from age eight, he 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), wherein Brian De Palma 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), Shadows and Fog (1991), What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) and The River Wild (1994). He became a major stock player in director Paul Thomas Anderson's films, while finding some of his best roles in Sydney (1996) as a compulsive gambler, Boogie Nights (1997) in which he played a narcissistic porn star, and in Magnolia (1999) 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'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 another impeccable character player Philip Seymour Hoffman. Reilly finally 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 especially Chicago (2002) as the put-upon husband, Amos Hart, who is played for a patsy by murderous wife Roxie (Renée Zellweger). For this last part, he received both Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for best supporting actor. Though he didn't win either, it's only a matter a time for this talented thespian who can easily switch from being a dream of a nice guy to your worst nightmare on any given day. Reilly is married to producer Alison Dickey.

1. The Dictator (Dictatorul) (2012) - Actor

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2. Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie (2012) - Taquito 3. Terri (2011) - Mr. Fitzgerald

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4. Cedar Rapids (2011) - Dean Ziegler

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5. The 2011 Independent Spirit Awards (2011) - Himself 6. Carnage (Doamne... ce măcel!) (2011) - Michael Longstreet

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7. Will Ferrell: Mark Twain Prize (2011) - Himself 8. We Need to Talk About Kevin (Trebuie să vorbim despre Kevin) (2011) - Franklin 9. The Extra Man (2010) - Gershon Gruen

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10. Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant - Guide to Becoming a Vampire (2010) - Himself 11. Cyrus (2010) - John

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12. Zombieland (2009) - Bathroomzombie (uncredited)

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13. Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009) - Larten Crepsley

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14. 9 (9) (2009) - 5 (voice) 15. Step Brothers (2008) - Dale Doback

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16. Step Brothers (2008) - (story)

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17. Year of the Dog (2007) - Al

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18. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007) - Dewey Cox

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19. Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (2006) - Sasquatch (uncredited) 20. A Prairie Home Companion (2006) - Lefty 21. Dark Water (2005) - Mr. Murray 22. The Aviator (2004) - Noah Dietrich 23. Anger Management (2003) - Older Arnie Shankman (uncredited) 24. Chicago (2002) - Amos Hart 25. Gangs of New York (2002) - Happy Jack Mulraney 26. The Hours (2002) - Dan Brown 27. The Good Girl (2002) - Phil Last 28. The Perfect Storm (2000) - Dale 'Murph' Murphy 29. Magnolia (1999) - Officer Jim Kurring 30. For Love of the Game (1999) - Gus Sinski 31. Never Been Kissed (1999) - Gus 32. The Thin Red Line (1998) - Sgt. Storm 33. Boogie Nights (1997) - Reed Rothchild 34. "The Daily Show" (1996) - Himself (4 episodes, 2000-2010) 35. Sydney (1996) - John 36. Dolores Claiborne (1995) - Const. Frank Stamshaw 37. "Late Show with David Letterman" (1993) - Himself / ... (2 episodes, 2003-2008) 38. What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) - Tucker Van Dyke 39. "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (1993) - Himself (9 episodes, 2000-2009) 40. Shadows and Fog (1991) - Cop at Police Station 41. State of Grace (1990) - Stevie McGuire 42. We're No Angels (1989) - Young Monk

1. Received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from DePaul University's Goodman School of Drama (Chicago) [1987]

2. Originated the role of Marty in the 2002 musical "Marty" (book by Rupert Holmes, music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Lee Adams), based on the 1955 movie Marty (1955).

3. In April 2004 he left the filming of Manderlay (2005) to be replaced by Slovenian actor Zeljko Ivanek. According to a report in Entertainment Weekly, he did so to protest against the killing of a donkey during production.

4. Attended DePaul University in Chicago.

5. John is a wonderful singer who came out of a musical theater background - did all of his own singing in Chicago (2002).

6. In 2003, he starred in three out of the five movies nominated for Best Picture. They are Chicago (2002), Gangs of New York (2002), and The Hours (2002).

7. Made a home video of himself singing in a bow tie and suit for director Rob Marshall who gave him his role in Chicago (2002).

8. Born to an American father (of Irish ancestry) and a Lithuanian mother. He is the fifth of six children.

9. Director Antoine Fuqua wanted to cast him in his since aborted crime epic "Tru Blu" with Denzel Washington and Benicio Del Toro.

10. For not only his broad, almost 6' 2" frame, curly hair, and everyman's mug, but also his straight-forward but thoughtful acting style, Reilly has frequently been dubbed "his generation's Gene Hackman".

11. Was nominated for Broadway's 2000 Tony Award as Best Actor (Play) for a revival of Sam Shepard's "True West."

12. Graduated from Brother Rice High School on the South Side of Chicago.

13. In addition to having worked with Leonardo DiCaprio in The Aviator (2004), he has also worked with two other actors who played Howard Hughes: Jason Robards (from Melvin and Howard (1980)) in Magnolia (1999), and Tommy Lee Jones (from The Amazing Howard Hughes (1977) (TV)) in A Prairie Home Companion (2006).

14. Was member of the dramatic jury at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005.

15. Is a Chicago White Sox fan.

16. Lost a few pounds to play the rock star title character in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007).

17. Is a vegetarian.

18. In the tradition of Alan Young's Filby from The Time Machine (1960), Reilly plays a teenager aged 14 in his forties - aged 41, for Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007).

19. Has a summer home in Michigan.

20. He met his wife in Thailand while he was filming Casualties of War (1989), who, at the time, was Sean Penn's assistant.

21. His first plane ride was to Thailand to film Casualties of War (1989).