John Christopher Reilly (born May 24, 1965) is an American actor. Debuting in Casualties of War in 1989, he is one of several actors whose careers were launched by Brian De Palma. To date, he has appeared in more than fifty film productions, including three separate films in 2002, each of which were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Chicago and a Grammy Award for the song "Walk Hard", which he wrote and performed in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.

Early life

Reilly, the fifth of six children, was born to an Irish American father and a Lithuanian mother and raised in Chicago, Illinois.Interview: John C. Reilly, Retrieved 2009-05-19Life of Reilly, Retrieved 2009-05-19 He was raised as a Catholic and graduated from Brother Rice High School. On the set of the film Step Brothers, Reilly and co-star Richard Jenkins realized while discussing having lived in Chicago that, when Reilly was four, Jenkins had once worked for Reilly's father.Reilly + Movie Dad Met When He Was FourJohn C. Reilly also mentions this on the commentary track for the DVD release of Step Brothers.

Film career