John C. Reilly on Finding His Place as an Actor

Reilly also spoke about how staying optimistic about what he could achieve helped him grow.

Actor John C. Reilly

“You should never assume that there isn’t a place for you in this world, because there is.” – John C. Reilly

Step Brothers star John C. Reilly is one of the most versatile actors of the last few decades — after all, few actors could pull off the hilarity of his many comedic roles that he’s best known for with serious roles in drama films directed by such luminary directors as Martin Scorsese, P.T. Anderson, Robert Altman, Terrence Malick, and Lynne Ramsay. Yet even with that experience — and an Oscar nomination for his supporting role in Chicago — under his belt, one would be hard-pressed to call Reilly a typical “leading man.”

In an interview with The Landmark to promote his role in the Western The Sisters Brothers, Reilly spoke about finding his place as an actor and how staying optimistic about what he could achieve helped him grow. He said:

“You should never assume that there isn’t a place for you in this world, because there is. But you have to make your place. I come from a background in Chicago where I looked at the movies like they were some foreign country and I thought there was no place for me there. But through staying optimistic and trying to grow as an artist, an actor, and a human being, I made a place for myself at the table.”

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