Top 100 John Reilly Quotes
#1. When I first joined SAG, there was another John Reilly. My dad was John Reilly, too, but growing up I was John John. Nobody in life calls me John C. It's more like, 'Hey you, Step Brother!'
John C. Reilly
#2. It's thought of as an eccentric thing for an actor to really try to maintain quality control through the whole career. Most people think, 'You just work. You just keep working.' And in some ways I wish I could be a guy who's just a workhorse.
John C. Reilly
#3. 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.
John C. Reilly
#4. I love that people can't place me. They don't know my name. That's 'mission accomplished' in my world.
John C. Reilly
#6. I don't really get off on the anonymous love of strangers, which I think a lot of actors do. They're lacking something in their own personal lives, so they want the adoration of autographs and all that stuff.
John C. Reilly
#7. Really if you look at my filmography, there's something for everyone!
John C. Reilly
#8. In 1889, I predict, the legislative stage of the Irish question will have arrived; and the union with England, which shall then have cursed Ireland for nine tenths of a century, will be repealed.
John Boyle O'Reilly
#10. I always say it takes as much preparation and thought to do a small part as a leading part. In some ways, leads are easier because you have the luxury of time to discover the character.
John C. Reilly
#11. I swear and it comes off a little angry, no matter how funny I'm trying to do it. If I use certain words with a certain intensity, it's like 'Whoa whoa whoa, buddy buddy!'
John C. Reilly
#12. I'm a big fan of the 'Harry Potter' movies and 'The Lord of the Rings' films.
John C. Reilly
#13. And we who have toiled for freedom's law, have we sought for freedom's soul? Have we learned at last that human right is not a part but the whole?
John Boyle O'Reilly
#14. Honestly, to tell you the truth, being trapped in any video game sounds like a living nightmare to me. In most video games, the point is it's a fight for survival, so I think it would be a terrifying place to live.
John C. Reilly
#15. 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. He also introduced me to a lot of wonderful folk music.
John C. Reilly
#16. Mrs. Reilly called in that accent that occurs south of New Jersey only in New Orleans, that Hoboken near the Gulf of Mexico.
John Kennedy Toole
#17. A lot of times, mainstream critics are much tougher on small, independent movies because they can be.
John C. Reilly
#18. Unless you do the same thing, it's tough for stereotypes to stick. That said, whatever you've done that's most popular at a given moment is what people think "you do."
John C. Reilly
#19. I kinda taught myself how to play guitar, and I still play to this day. It's become a pretty big part of my life.
John C. Reilly
#20. I don't know how to be like a Bill Murray or a Will Ferrell, these guys who know how to make a line funny just by, I don't know, some extra-sense perception. I only know character and emotion and real acting; that's all I know how to do.
John C. Reilly
#21. From the first time I did a movie, people have said, 'Oh, it's all going to change now.' And it would change, but very incrementally. I think I prefer that to some big explosion of fame all of the sudden.
John C. Reilly
#22. 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.
John C. Reilly
#23. I would say whisky or pills. Not both because that can have disastrous consequences.
John C. Reilly
#24. It has always been the aim of royalty and aristocracy to lower the individual liberty and independence of the common people. A baron and a minute-man could not breathe the same air.
John Boyle O'Reilly
#25. I was more like a middle child. My youngest brother was the baby, so he got all the attention that the baby gets. And my older brothers were getting into so much trouble that I was left in the middle, doing plays. I was up to no good, but my mother didn't know it!
John C. Reilly
#26. All that is worth seeing in good boxing can best be witnessed in a contest with soft gloves. Every value is called out: quickness, force, precision, foresight, readiness, pluck, and endurance. With these, the rowdy and 'rough' are not satisfied.
John Boyle O'Reilly
#27. I mingle with my peers or no one, and since I have no peers, I mingle with no one.
John Kennedy Toole
#28. For a while I had a blues band in L.A., but I realized I was too optimistic to play the blues. I did not have the misery in my heart that the blues required.
John C. Reilly
#29. Every man on the planet Has just as much right as yourself to the road.
John Boyle O'Reilly
#30. It's true that the skills required to be a conman are the same as those required for being an actor. Though those skills are in the service of something a bit more noble with acting, I hope.
John C. Reilly
#31. Why people pick me for the roles that they do is a bit of a mystery.
John C. Reilly
#32. An actor's life is like a series of - it's like the first day of school happening over and over again.
John C. Reilly
#33. Well blest is he who has a dear one dead; A friend he has whose face will never change- A dear communion that will not grow strange; The anchor of a love is death.
John Boyle O'Reilly
#34. Putting prize-fighting altogether aside as one of the unavoidable evils attending on this manly exercise, the inestimable value of boxing as a training, discipline, and development of boys and young men remains.
John Boyle O'Reilly
#35. I love card games, and I've always loved board games and stuff like that as a kid, and I think it's that part of your brain that's engaged in con movies. It's like this 'Who's outsmarting whom?'
John C. Reilly
#36. 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.
John C. Reilly
#37. I like being employed, you know. That's my favorite kind of acting.
John C. Reilly
#38. Our life a harp is, with unnumbered strings, And tones and symphonies; but our poor skill Some shallow notes from its great music brings.
John Boyle O'Reilly
#39. I give as much as I can, and it's up to someone else to turn it into a movie. Good luck to you!
John C. Reilly
#40. I think just getting a movie done is an accomplishment in itself.
John C. Reilly
#41. I'm not of the manor born; I've never felt entitled in that way. I just came to Hollywood to be an actor. All that lifestyle stuff is something to be managed.
John C. Reilly
#42. I hear actors complain about being stereotyped, and a lot of the time, you have yourself to blame. Just don't take the part if you feel like it's a stereotypical part for you. You have control over your life. We don't have the old studio system, where you have to do what they tell you.
John C. Reilly
#44. With the advance of feudalism came the growth of iron armor, until, at last, a fighting-man resembled an armadillo.
John Boyle O'Reilly
#45. I did a movie with Leonardo DiCaprio, and his skill level was eons ahead of mine. It was really more like an abattoir - he just slaughtered my character over and over again.
John C. Reilly
#46. I'm alienated from this world because its weird and I don't want to be a part of it. I want to be part of the people that are more imaginative and crazy.
John C. Reilly
#47. I always felt really guilty if I spent too much time playing video games. It's a colossal waste of time. And I can't say it's a very satisfying feeling at the end of the day, if you've spent eight hours playing a video game; you just end up feeling kind of spent, and used.
John C. Reilly
#48. The adoption of gloves for all contests will do more to preserve the practice of boxing than any other conceivable means. It will give pugilism new life, not only as a professional boxer's art, but as a general exercise.
John Boyle O'Reilly
#49. There's always something interesting about comedy teams that have the exact same energy. The one time I really noticed that was Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly in 'Step Brothers.'
Scott Aukerman
#50. Oh, absolutely, it felt more serious than your typical job. One of the things that got us through how difficult the shooting actually was was that we are telling a real story.
John C. Reilly
#51. 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.' So I started with Brian De Palma and Sean Penn. I had a pretty high bar to start with.
John C. Reilly
#52. The red rose whispers of passion,
And the white rose breathes of love;
O, the red rose is a falcon,
And the white rose is a dove.
John Boyle O'Reilly
#53. Whenever I work on something, I try and throw everything I have at it. Then if the director finds it useful they use it, and if not, they ignore it!
John C. Reilly
#54. Despite not looking like a matinee idol, I feel like I have a lot to give. I've never had any trouble with women. People are always surprised with the romantic aspect of my movies.
John C. Reilly
#55. I love to improvise, but I always thought "Man, it's like the final frontier for improvisational actors, to really go for something emotional, something that's not just chasing the laugh."
John C. Reilly
#56. There's something about the water - that solitary kind of peaceful feeling. You're on Earth but not quite.
John C. Reilly
#57. I know I'm not some matinee idol, but I think we're sold this bill of goods by the media, which says that only the most beautiful and dashing people can become movie stars. So when someone like me sneaks in, they have to redo the calculations.
John C. Reilly
#58. I should perhaps warn you that I am about to faint from anxiety and general depression, though. The film I saw last night was especially grueling, a teen-age beach musical. I almost collapsed during the singing sequence on surfboard.
John Kennedy Toole
#59. God forbid you got seasick because there was no option to go back. So that really did force us to be a group.
John C. Reilly
#60. I view my strongest competition as myself. You're always trying to top yourself, rather than worrying about what other people are doing.
John C. Reilly
#61. Actors in general are pretty good bullshit artists; we're good at just chewing the fat, interacting with people. So we're good ambassadors for movies.
John C. Reilly
#62. One of the unique things is that whether we were out at sea or in the middle of the water tank, a lot of times you just couldn't leave. Especially when we were out at sea.
John C. Reilly
#63. I don't mind doing scripted material. It's actually kind of a relief, because improvising is a little bit like screenwriting on your feet.
John C. Reilly
#64. I like working with people I know. It saves a lot of awkward conversations and getting-to-know-you kinda moments. You trust the people if you know them.
John C. Reilly
#65. The organized charity, scrimped and iced, In the name of a cautious, statistical Christ.
John Boyle O'Reilly
#66. How shall I a habit break? As you did that habit make, As you gathered, you must lose; As you yielded, now refuse, Thread by thread the strands we twist Till they bind us neck and wrist, Thread by thread the patient hand Must untwine ere free we stan
John Boyle O'Reilly
#67. In Chicago it's really a case of the play's the thing - people are just so happy to be acting, you know? We were all actors - not like in New York or Los Angeles, where everyone says they are actors but they are actually waiting tables and hustling for spots in commercials.
John C. Reilly
#68. Put least trust in him who is foremost to praise you, nor judge of a road till it draw to the end.
John Boyle O'Reilly
#69. When they're good, I like working with new actors.
John C. Reilly
#70. I was never a very dependable employee for anything. Perfect for the actor's life!
John C. Reilly
#71. That's one of the difficult things of being an actor that I'm still not used to. You have to go, you have to show up at these places where you know nobody, and sometimes with really impressive, high stakes people like Roman Polanski.
John C. Reilly
#72. 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.
John C. Reilly
#73. If you get made fun for the way you look, then maybe wearing the same thing every day is the best way to protect yourself.
John C. Reilly
#74. You were there all day long, 12 hours a day. So there was none of this, 'I'm going back to my trailer, my trailer's bigger than your trailer,' that kind of Hollywood nonsense.
John C. Reilly
#75. I was a solid C student because I was doing so many plays. I was a drama nerd, but I was also kind of a Zelig-like character; I would shift between different groups of people. But the people I spent most of my time with were either chorus or swing choir or the drama nerds.
John C. Reilly
#76. Animation is a great way to work. No early morning call times, no make-up chair. In live action, you're always fighting the clock; the sun is always going down too soon.
John C. Reilly
#77. There's never been a finer man in American sports than John Wooden, or a finer coach.
Rick Reilly
#78. My life is a rather grim one. One day I shall perhaps describe it to you in great detail.
John Kennedy Toole
#79. One of the reasons people find me a believable actor is that I don't seem like one of the gods from Olympus. I seem like someone who was lucky enough to be let into Olympus.
John C. Reilly
#80. Life is often confusing and sad, and I'm a big fan of the slap and the tickle, as they say.
John C. Reilly
#81. A lot of times, good improv is when both people, or however many people are in the scene, really have no idea what the next thing you're going to say is.
John C. Reilly
#82. I like people who are able to keep pushing themselves and challenging themselves even after great success.
John C. Reilly
#84. 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.
John C. Reilly
#85. 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.
John C. Reilly
#86. My heroes are Bill Murray and Dustin Hoffman. Those are the two actors that both do comedies and dramas, seamlessly. Also John C. Reilly and Philip Seymour Hoffman. They're all just great actors, neither comedic nor dramatic. They're just great actors.
Jonah Hill
#87. Surprising people is the key to career longevity for someone like me.
John C. Reilly
#88. It's a mystery why certain people find certain things funny.
John C. Reilly
#89. I would consider directing. I think directing myself would be tough, but I'm definitely interested in directing. I might start off directing a play before I move to a film.
John C. Reilly
#90. A good boxer, in striking the round blow, instead of loosening body and arm, gathers himself into a heap of muscularity and begins his blow where all blows ought to begin, from the solidarity of the right foot.
John Boyle O'Reilly
#92. For peace do not hope; to be just you must break it. Still work for the minute and not for the year.
John Boyle O'Reilly
#93. My family are all storytellers, and I think I inherited a lot more of that gene than other people in my family. I guess I was fun to have around.
John C. Reilly
#94. I just like surprising people. I never want to get to a place where people see that I am in a movie and they go see the movie and they expect a certain performance one way or the other. That is just inherently boring to me.
John C. Reilly
#95. Women are at once the guardians and the well-spring of the world's faith, morality, and tenderness; and if ever they are degraded to a commonplace level with men, this fine essential quality will be impaired, and their weakness will have to beg and follow where now it guides and controls.
John Boyle O'Reilly
#96. I'm much more character based. I try to just be really committed to what I'm doing.
John C. Reilly
#97. Women ought to be fully guarded by law in all rights of property, labor, profession, etc.; but, roughly stated, the voting population ought to represent the fighting population.
John Boyle O'Reilly
#99. Woman suffrage is an unjust, unreasonable, unspiritual abnormality. It is a hard, undigested, tasteless, devitalized proposition. It is a half-fledged, unmusical, Promethean abomination. It is a quack bolus to reduce masculinity even by the obliteration of femininity.
John Boyle O'Reilly
#100. If I'm committed to something really stupid, then I'm in a comedy.
John C. Reilly
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