Celebrate John C. Reilly’s May 24th birthday with a triple-feature

It is hard to believe, but John C. Reilly has been tearing up the silver screen in memorable lead and supporting roles for almost 30 years, and he turns 53 on May 24!

Happy Birthday, Mr. Reilly!

Perhaps it is just this critic, but this talented character actor with a blessed gift of comedic timing always seems to elevate the big screen air whenever he enters the frame.

Reilly’s impressive list of films is longer than a Friday afternoon traffic jam on Interstate 405, as  “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” (1993), “The Thin Red Line” (1998), “Gangs of New York” (2002), “The Hours” (2002), “The Aviator” (2004), “Wreck-It Ralph” (2012), and “Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014) are just part of his story.

The Academy nominated him for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in the Best Picture winner “Chicago” (2002), and Mr. Cellophane also brought down the house with Will Ferrell in 2008’s “Step Brothers”.

Yes, “Step Brothers” fans everywhere are still anxiously waiting for Prestige Worldwide’s sequel, but Reilly sports key dramatic supporting performances in acclaimed indies as well, and “Terri” (2011), “We Need to Talk about Kevin” (2011) and “Les Cowboys” (2015) are great examples.

He also delivered the funniest moments in the most hilarious insurance convention that you’ll ever see in “Cedar Rapids” (2011).

Well, Art House Film Wire is certainly leaving out some films (i.e. “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” (2007)), but let’s end with his connection with writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson.  Reilly played a gambler in Anderson’s “Hard Eight” (1996), a porn star and wannabe singer in “Boogie Nights” (1997) and a lonely cop in “Magnolia” (1999).

All of the 17 mentioned films receive AHFW’s recommendation, but let’s go with two Anderson films “Boogie Nights” and “Magnolia” and a lovely indie, “Terri” for a Reilly triple-feature!  Enjoy!

(“Boogie Nights is available on Netflix Streaming/DVD and Amazon Streaming. “Magnolia” and “Terri” are available on Netflix DVD and Amazon Streaming.)

Image credits: IMDB, New Line Cinema and ATO Pictures; Trailer credits: Lastmintrailers

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