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Video Rewind
Actor John C. Reilly turns up in many current films, adding to an impressive cinematic dossier.
By PHILIP BOOTH, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 16, 2003
If quantity of quality work in one year translated into awards, then Chicago-born John C. Reilly would be a shoo-in for 2002 trophies. The actor has been all over the screen, with strong performances in Chicago, The Good Girl, Gangs of New York and The Hours, which opens locally Friday. Next up is a role in Anger Management, with Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler.
Reilly, a graduate of DePaul University's Goodman School of Drama, is most often seen as a regular guy, a big, not really handsome fellow with a streak of kindness. In two of his 2002 films, he played cuckolded husbands, and he portrayed police officers in several movies released during the 1990s.
On the stage, he appeared in True West with fellow rising character actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, and he has the title role in the musical version of Marty expected on Broadway this year. He broke into feature films in 1989 with appearances as a soldier in the Brian De Palma drama Casualties of War and as a young monk in the Neil Jordan comedy We're No Angels, both, coincidentally, starring Sean Penn.
Reilly subsequently has appeared in 28 movies, most of which have been released on home video. A selected list:
The Good Girl (2002) -- Reilly is the genial pothead house-painter husband of Justine (Jennifer Aniston), a lonely Texas retail-store clerk in love with the local puppy-cute tortured writer (Jake Gyllenhaal). Favorite Reilly moment: He and his ultimately disloyal best buddy (Tim Blake Nelson), both stoned, fantasize about inventing a paint that will make houses invisible.
The Anniversary Party (2001) -- Various movie industry types, including a director portrayed by Reilly and others played by Alan Cumming, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Parker Posey, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Beals, Kevin Kline and his real-life wife, Phoebe Cates, gather at a beautiful home in the Hollywood Hills for a long day's night of reminiscences and ennui.
The Perfect Storm (2000) -- Reilly is a burly fisherman aboard the doomed Andrea Gail, a Massachusetts-based ship caught in a devastating storm in the North Atlantic.
Magnolia (1999) -- Paul Thomas Anderson's sprawling, Altmanesque story of dysfunction in the San Fernando Valley features a terrific ensemble of actors, including Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tom Cruise, William H. Macy, Jason Robards and Reilly, who plays a needy cop in love with a junkie.
For Love of the Game (1999) -- Reilly plays a catcher in this uneven drama about the ups and downs of a star Detroit Tigers pitcher (Kevin Costner).
Never Been Kissed (1999) -- The lightweight romantic comedy, starring Drew Barrymore and David Arquette, features Reilly as a seen-it-all newspaper editor.
The Thin Red Line (1998) -- Terrence Malick's meditative, beautifully photographed mess about the battle of Guadalcanal during World War II, adapted from the James Jones novel, has Reilly playing a mess sergeant. The blue-chip cast includes Sean Penn, Adrien Brody, Jim Caviezel, Ben Chaplin, George Clooney, John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, Elias Koteas and Nick Nolte.
Boogie Nights (1997) -- Paul Thomas Anderson's acclaimed tale of life in California's adult-film industry has Reilly as the best pal of a fast-rising porn star played by Mark Wahlberg. Also stars Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, Heather Graham and Don Cheadle.
Dolores Claiborne (1995) -- Reilly is a cop investigating a small-town Maine murder in this mystery, adapted from the Stephen King novel. Kathy Bates plays the title character; Jennifer Jason Leigh is her daughter.
The River Wild (1994) -- Kevin Bacon is the chief villain and Reilly is his weaker partner in this action flick set on a Montana river. The bad guys are in pursuit of a former river guide played by Meryl Streep.
Reilly's credits also include Lasse Hallstrom's What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), Hoffa (1992), Woody Allen's Shadows and Fog (1992), State of Grace (1990) and Days of Thunder (1990).