John C. Reilly quotes: the funnyman’s serious take on career, kids, and life.
“I like people who are able to keep pushing themselves and challenging themselves even after great success.”
“I view my strongest competition as myself. You’re always trying to top yourself, rather than worrying about what other people are doing.”
“I like when people know exactly – have a good sense of themselves – and know exactly what’s good for them. I admire that.”
“I try to take things that challenge me either physically or mentally… or I have to learn a new skill.”
“I’m always happy when there’s a good result. You have to make the decisions you have to make, whether it has to do with your family… or whatever it is.”
“I think you need to be ready for luck. When luck comes knocking at the door, people have their pants off and they’re not ready. I’ve worked with many great actors, all along the way – brilliant, gifted people who just don’t get the break that you got or didn’t take it. Anyone with a sense of humility or knowing the way the world goes… knows that there are hundreds of people behind you in your path who didn’t get lucky.”
“You want to get everything you can out of somebody – you didn’t hire them just to execute ideas you’ve already thought of. Hopefully they can do that, adapt to your vision, but hopefully they’re going to bring you ideas you would have never thought of without them.”
“The best way to come up with great stuff is to really hire people you believe in and then let them do their work.”
“Actually, acting turned out to be the perfect job for me, because I had a lot of different interests. I thought about being a priest at one point. I thought about being a teacher. I thought about being a lawyer. But I think acting is probably the best job for me.”
“I’m an actor because that’s what I’ve been since I was a little kid. It’s just something I always did. I like experiencing things and sharing them through a character because it makes me feel connected to people.”
“I almost became a clown actually. My plan was to go to clown college after I finished acting school. And then somebody talked me out of it who was a clown.”
“You push yourself to do it as honest and as real as you can. And I learned to improvise, which is freeing. It’s like you are letting your subconscious loose, and a lot of times the funniest stuff that you come up with has some basis in your real life and your real experiences.”
“I get work because people know I’m swinging as hard as I can, trying to connect, giving it my level best. I have a face for radio, but here I am doing what I do.”
“What dawned on me was: ‘If I’m an actor, I get to do the fun parts of every job!’ Without having to go to four years of law school.”
“I actually envy actors who have a persona: ‘This is the way I am. This is the part I play.’ And do it over and over and over. To me, that’s a lot easier than trying to reinvent yourself every six months.”
“Being unprepared makes me nervous. I’m old-fashioned show folk.”
“Acting’s all about the confidence you exude, especially on film. I mean, nervousness isn’t attractive in anyone, but a film camera will seek it out and punish you.”
“There are a lot of actors in the world, there’s a small number that actually get to work as actors, and there is a tiny group of actors that are celebrated in the way that I have been. I feel incredibly lucky.”
“There is a level of fame that is really unmanageable. But most of the people who experience that level of fame are compensated in other ways. Private villas and chauffeured boats.”
“This whole celebrity racket, it’s not really my bag. I don’t really do that stuff, and I am not looking to get famous myself. I would love it if my characters get famous, my work was well-known and appreciated. But I’m an actor, not a spokes model or a celebrity or whatever that is. I don’t know how to be that.”
“I really enjoy my time off. If I’m going to go to work, it has to be something I really believe in, or else it’s totally tedious.”
“Surprising people is the key to career longevity for someone like me.”
“I’m much more character based. I try to just be really committed to what I’m doing.”
“I think the whole point is just trying to be as honest, from moment to moment, as you can be.”
“I’m drawn to things that are honest about life, that reflect life in the way I see it. And so that’s why I’m often the funny person in the serious story or I have serious moments even as a funny character.”
“The way you get through having a sh*tty job is to laugh a lot and goof around.”
“Life is often confusing and sad, and I’m a big fan of the slap and the tickle, as they say.”
“To me, that’s life. Life is complicated like that and, like you say, it’s less black and white than gray most of the time. I’m drawn to portraying people that reflect the world in the way that I see the world, but that said, I don’t have some political agenda behind the roles that I choose.”
“I find people attractive for more subtle reasons than just the way they look.”
“I think if we could all recognize the fact that there’s male and female in all of us then there might be more balance in the world. More stories about women would be part of that.”
“I come from a pretty working-class neighborhood in Chicago. Hard work was just expected of you. It wasn’t some noble thing you did; it was a prerequisite. It’s what a man did. You get up, you put on your boots, and you work hard. We’ve lost a lot of that, I’m afraid.”
“Most boys’ first hero is their father. That was definitely true of my dad. He was a proud Irish American and he taught me a lot about ethics and responsibility.”
“The thing I tried to remember when I was younger was, ‘Do something that’s at least as good, if not better, than the last thing you did.'”
“Young people can be annoying, let’s face it. But they can also be really refreshing to be around and full of enthusiasm.”
“I feel like a teenager myself, so I appreciate it when the kids think you’re all right.”
“Oftentimes, a funny situation is funny because it’s uncomfortable or weird. The most memorable stories, or the stuff that you repeat to your friends, it’s not like, ‘Oh, I had a pleasant day, nothing happened on the bus today.’ It’s when strange things happen, when you become uncomfortable or knocked out of your own reality – those are the things that are interesting.”
“Being a father has fulfilled me in parts of my life that sustain me. It gives me a comfort and patience. All actors have this hole inside that they’re trying to fill by performing. I’m anxious to keep creating, but I’m not so desperate anymore because I have the love and support of my kids and wife.”
“I’m aware of how lucky I am. Being able to make pretty good money, and get to do a lot of fun work.”
