Graffiti 31

I'm a big fan of John C. Reilly. I identify with big guys who are funny and dramatic.

From a 2010 Interview.

You don’t think some of the comedy in this film is derived from the characters feeling awkward, and the audience, by extension, feeling awkward as well?
John C. Reilly: I guess so. I hadn’t really put the two together, but yeah.
And that seems like a form of comedy that you’re attracted to.
John C. Reilly: Well, I’m a big fan of not letting the audience of off the hook, as they say. I like it when things feel real, and that’s oftentimes not comfortable. Life is often confusing and sad, and I’m a big fan of the slap and the tickle, as they say. You get them laughing, and then you can… Any movie or play or whatever that’s too downbeat—Like, I’ve seen stories about working-class characters, and it’s just [drumming on the chair] one horrible thing after another, and then just marching through their lives. I come from a working-class family, and that’s just not how it is. The way you get through having a shitty job is to laugh a lot and goof around.

Do you think growing up in Chicago affected your evolution as an actor?
John C. Reilly: I like Chicago for its lack of aggression. New York and L.A., they’re both such commercial places. New York especially, as an actor, it will just eat you alive, and Chicago—the lessons I learned here doing theater were like, “The play’s the thing, and I only succeed if all of us succeed.” That kind of thinking. It’s a lot different in New York. Usually, the people I’ve met from there have much more of an attitude of, “Well, good luck to you out there, I’m going to take care of myself. Hopefully you’ll be fine too.” [Laughs.] But it’s dog-eat-dog out there, baby.
There’s more of a sense that you’re in competition with everybody.
John C. Reilly: And Chicago’s more of a sense of a community. And it doesn’t seem like, when I was coming up here—maybe it’s different now—no one really felt like, “Well, if I do well in this play, I’m going to be an overnight sensation.” The stakes were lower. Most of the people doing it here do it because they really love it, not because they want to be famous or get rich.