A fantastic and prolific actor staring in, recently,
The Perfect Storm,
Magnolia (as Jim Kurring the good cop),
Boogie Nights, and
Hard Eight.
Born 24 May 1965 and ran with, if I recall interviews right, the
street kids for awhile before getting into theatre and then eventually, his big break in
Casualties of War.
John C. Reilly has an ability to act as if he's totally being natural on screen. Most actors seem to have a precision to their acting, a perfect, polished delivery of lines, appearance, and, well, acting. But Reilly makes his characters into real flesh and blood with rough edges, excellent gestures, tone, and pure demeanour that can't be replicated or acted: he's being that character.
A small anecdote from a Fresh Air interview I recall.
Reilly and P. T. Anderson would drive around LA with a camcorder pretending that Reilly was a cop on Cops. They'd call up stars the y knew and say, "We're playing Cops and we'll be at your house in 10 minutes. Just go with it."
"It usually resulted in chases through people's backyards," Reilly said. Just imagine the fun, cruising around, talking like you're on Cops and then harassing stars, "I'm going to look in your pocket. Am I gonna get stuck? Am I?"