John C. Reilly has become one of the best comedic actors of our time. Appearing in films like “Talladega Nights,” “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,” and of course, “Step Brothers,” Reilly has cemented himself as one of the best around. However, we often forget that the actor rose to fame thanks to some of his more serious efforts, particularly with Paul Thomas Anderson. But it’s that time with PTA, particularly off-screen, where Reilly truly found his comedic calling.
In a new profile with GQ, promoting the upcoming release of “The Sisters Brothers,” Reilly, along with some of his collaborators, discusses how he developed into such a comedic powerhouse, and why we can thank Anderson and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
“I was as big a fan as you can be of somebody who’d made five movies,” said Paul Thomas Anderson, describing why he bag working with Reilly on his the director’s debut film “Hard Eight.” “He didn’t look like anybody, he didn’t sound like anybody else. And that was really exciting.”
From his role in “Hard Eight,” Reilly and Anderson would go on to work together on the films “Boogie Nights” and “Magnolia.” Their bond wasn’t just on-set, however. They would also be known to communicate quite a bit during their off time, particularly when they talked on the phone while they watched “Cops.” It was their mutual love of the documentary-style police show that was instrumental in launching Reilly’s reputation as a funny guy.
“[Anderson] got me in an L.A.P.D. uniform from a costume friend, and we would drive around,” explained Reilly. “We’d call up, like, Phil Hoffman and say, ‘Phil, we’re coming over. Someone called the police because your music was too loud. Just go with it. You’ll see when we get there.’”
“On the way to Phil’s house,” Reilly continued, “I would be like, ‘Apparently’—and I had the Oakleys on—‘this individual thinks they can play their music however loud they want. Well, I got news for them. There’s a thing called the law.’”
“It was really, really, really, really, really, really fun,” Anderson recalled.
It was this extracurricular activity with PTA and Reilly, with the unknowing help of Hoffman, that not only landed the actor in the role of a police officer in “Magnolia,” but also revealed that Reilly had a real knack for improvisation.
From there, Reilly says that he landed a table read for a role in “Anchorman,” which impressed not only the filmmaker Adam McKay but also star Will Ferrell. “We were like, ‘God, that guy is so good,’” Ferrell said. Unfortunately, Reilly was already cast in the Martin Scorsese film “The Gangs of New York” and was unable to work with Ferrell and McKay.
However, we all know that would soon be rectified as Reilly and Ferrell worked together on films, including the aforementioned “Step Brothers,” which has one of the most unlikely fans you can imagine — Joaquin Phoenix.
Phoenix stars in the newest film from Reilly, “The Sisters Brothers,” and opened up about his love of the comedy classic, which recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary.
“I think it’s well known that ‘Step Brothers’ is one of my favorite movies,” Phoenix said. “It’s a broad comedy and he’s functioning in that space, and yet it feels like there’s such truth to the character. It doesn’t feel like it’s just played for laughs. There’s a real history there for that character.”
Who knew that a silly comedy would have such a ringing endorsement from one of the best actors on the planet?
“The Sisters Brothers” just premiered at the Venice Film Festival and will hit theaters on September 21.
Check out all our coverage from the 2018 Venice Film Festival here.