The John C. Reilly Interview with Throwing Fits

Summary

Podcast Summary: The John C. Reilly Interview with Throwing Fits

Introduction

In the episode titled "The John C. Reilly Interview with Throwing Fits," hosts Lawrence and Jeff sit down with the versatile actor John C. Reilly. The conversation delves into Reilly's multifaceted career, personal style, artistic endeavors, and life philosophies. The interview is a blend of humor, insightful discussions, and heartfelt anecdotes, providing listeners with a comprehensive look into the life and mindset of one of Hollywood's most beloved characters.

Career and Nominations

John C. Reilly opens the discussion by addressing his nominations across major award platforms, humorously debating the concept of an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony).

• [00:00–03:12]
  Reilly: “I have arrived.”
  Host: "Did you have anything written down at the Oscars when you're nominated for Chicago?"

Reilly shares his thoughts on being nominated versus winning, emphasizing the pressure that comes with victory and the inherent honor in being recognized.

• [02:47–03:12]
  Reilly: "It is kind of better to be nominated than to win. You get into the Matrix... it tells people that you're there and you're part of the conversation."

He reflects on his experience at the Oscars for "Chicago," where he did not win, but acknowledges his colleague Chris Cooper's well-deserved victory.

Personal Style and Fashion

A significant portion of the interview centers around Reilly's distinctive personal style and his passion for fashion. He discusses his preference for custom-made suits, workwear aesthetics, and his love for hats, providing insights into how his fashion choices reflect his personality and artistic expression.

• [05:19–07:59]
  Reilly: "I always wear the brim up. Some people do this, but then... [wearing a Panama straw hat]...my work suit when I'm there... I wear my work suit when I'm there, my shortcoat."

Reilly elaborates on his admiration for brands like Mont St. Michel and his commitment to quality and functionality in clothing. He emphasizes the importance of investing in personal style rather than following fleeting trends.

• [08:51–10:31]
  Reilly: “Custom shirts... Anto in Los Angeles... '...every single time you put it on, you're like, oh, this is my shirt.'"

He advocates for self-expression through fashion, encouraging listeners to curate their own unique styles instead of relying solely on designer labels.

Clowns and Art

Reilly shares his interest in clowning and clown art, revealing a deeper understanding of the art form's layers and emotional depth. He fondly recalls his own experiences as a clown in his youth and appreciates amateur clown paintings for their portrayal of personality and emotion.

• [27:06–28:52]
  Reilly: “Clowns... there's a whole clown scene... the paintings I love the most are where you see the person inside there too, through their eyes or through their emotion.”

This segment highlights Reilly's appreciation for how art can capture the essence of individual experiences and personalities.

Working with Directors and Actors

The conversation shifts to Reilly's collaborations with legendary directors and actors, showcasing his respect and admiration for their craft. He mentions working with Brian De Palma, Tony Scott, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson, highlighting the unique influences each has had on his career.

• [55:31–60:16]
  Reilly: “Brian De Palma, that was my first film... I owe my whole career to you and Brian and Art Linson.”

He fondly recalls his friendship with Paul Thomas Anderson and his admiration for Martin Scorsese's storytelling prowess.

• [57:49–60:16]
  Reilly: “Paul was... one of the first people that saw... I've been following you, and you have more to do.”

Reilly emphasizes the importance of supportive relationships in the industry and how these collaborations have shaped his professional journey.

Personal Stories and Life Philosophy

Reilly opens up about his childhood, sharing a humorous yet poignant story about stealing cereal from a train—a tale that underscores his mischievous side and reflects on his upbringing.

• [50:52–52:12]
  Reilly: “I smashed this lock off, which is a felony... we took like 500 boxes of Sugar Corn Pops... we'd have cereal parties in Bobby's basement.”

He discusses his Catholic upbringing and the moral lessons learned, illustrating how his early experiences have influenced his compassionate and empathetic nature.

• [49:16–50:44]
  Reilly: “I try to be honest with myself... Do unto others... Treat your brother as you would.”

Reilly shares his views on personal expression and authenticity, advocating for individuality over conformity, especially in the realms of fashion and personal style.

Vaudeville and Artistic Expression

A significant highlight of the interview is Reilly's discussion about his vaudeville show, "Mr. Romantic." He describes the show as a blend of romance and comedy, serving as a meditation on love and human connection.

• [43:09–46:05]
  Reilly: “It's a silly kind of playful vaudeville show... the whole show is like a meditation on love.”

He recounts the positive reception of the show, notably at South by Southwest in Austin, where audiences responded warmly to his heartfelt performances.

• [44:06–45:35]
  Reilly: “We just did our biggest show in Austin... the audience was literally like a sponge.”

Concluding Thoughts and Advice

Towards the end of the interview, Reilly offers constructive criticism to the hosts, emphasizing the importance of personal presentation and respect in public settings.

• [66:35–68:15]
  Reilly: “Make an effort... have some respect for the other people around you... care about what you look like before you leave the house... celebrate who you are.”

He concludes with reflections on empathy, beauty, and joy as essential elements for navigating the complexities of the modern world, tying back to his overarching humanist mission.

Notable Quotes

• [02:47]
  Reilly: "It is kind of better to be nominated than to win."

• [05:31]
  Reilly: "Custom shirts... every single time you put it on, you're like, oh, this is my shirt."

• [27:06]
  Reilly: "Clowns... they wear makeup and it's a very practical item... a walking air conditioner."

• [43:09]
  Reilly: “It's about human beings... human expression.”

• [66:35]
  Reilly: “Everything that I do these days is about trying to create empathy and trying to create beauty and trying to create joy.”

Conclusion

The interview with John C. Reilly on "Throwing Fits" provides an intimate glimpse into the actor's life, highlighting his commitment to authenticity, artistic expression, and personal integrity. Reilly's insights into fashion, his artistic projects, and his philosophical musings offer listeners a rich and engaging narrative that underscores his multifaceted persona. Through humor and heartfelt storytelling, Reilly not only entertains but also inspires, advocating for genuine self-expression and empathy in an increasingly complex world.

Transcript

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[John C. Reilly]

By texting 64,000. You agree to receive recurring automated marketing messages from Pocket Hose. Message and data rates may apply. No purchase required. Terms apply. Available at pocket hose.com terms throw gang we are joined by the romance raja the king of curls, the film pharaoh. Call him RFK how he's killing these scripts. Call him RDJ how he's delivering these lines. He's not the stepbrother, he's the brother who stepped up to the stage. He keeps it correct on his set. Gangs in New York call him Al Capone. How he killed it in Chicago you got dry dick he got Dewey cocks you got a soft too. He got a hard 8 not in school but when he links up with PTA he's changing these kids lives. Oh you're not with his filmography. How about you film I'll grab on these nuts. He puts the antic in romantic. His prostate must be bipolar because the stream's going nuts. Call him Wayne Croo. How his songs got the man's united his life thesp being your life pedestrian. The star of Cyrus Miley getting big bills O'Reilly the music's hot and steamy. Hawaii got the comedic chops Smiley and the drama with a stiff upper lip. Kylie Oscar nominated actor and Grammy nominated musician whose new album what's not to Love is out on June 13th. John C. Riley. John, how the hell are you?

I'm very good after that introduction. Holy cow you spitting rhymes There.

Try my best, bro.

Got some verses.

I got a. A potential EGOT in the building, you know?

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

Got one day. One day. I gotta get mo. I gotta get moving.

You're O for four, honestly. So let's pick it up. How you doing?

Actually, I was emanated. Emanated. Are you supposed to win all those things to become an egot?

Yes, unfortunately.

Well, it was nominated for a Grammy. Nominated for a Tony. Nominated for an Oscar. And what's the s. No O, E, G. Emmy.

Emmy.

And not an Emmy.

[Unknown]

Right.

[John C. Reilly]

Golden Globe.

[Unknown]

That's not.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah. Ego. That's a G, isn't it?

[Unknown]

No Grammy.

[John C. Reilly]

Oh, Grammy, Golden Globes.

[Unknown]

No one cares about those.

[John C. Reilly]

Tony, you got the G. Got.

Okay. I just got. Got.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

Nominations.

[Unknown]

It's an honor just to be nominated though, right?

[John C. Reilly]

Actually, it is. It is kind of better to be nominated than to win.

Really?

Why is that? Like. Well, all the pressure that comes with it, like, if you win, you're kind of, like, expected to deliver something really big. Next speech, you know, like a speech or just like the next job you choose has to be as good as your Oscar winning. Whatever. And if you're nominated, it just kind of gets you into the Matrix, you know, like, it tells people that you're there and you're part of the conversation.

I have arrived.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

Did you have anything written down at the Oscars when you're nominated for Chicago?

[John C. Reilly]

Well, that was a strange one because we were like. We had just gone to war. So I don't think I had anything specific other than to maybe thank the people that I did musicals with when I was a kid and then maybe have like a moment of silence for peace in the world. Like, but I. I didn't have to give that.

[Unknown]

And there was. And there was no peace because you didn't get your Oscar.

[John C. Reilly]

That's. Well, Chris Cooper won that year and he was fantastic in Adaptation.

[Unknown]

Great movie.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah.

Well, John, we want to thank you for joining us.

So a good guy won.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

The good guys sometimes do win. We want to thank you for joining us. I have a question for you. It is a very humid, muggy day here in New York. Does your hair go crazy in the humidity?

I. I would take off my hat, but let me see. My hair is why you pay for the video.

[Unknown]

Yeah. Going brule mode over here, dude.

[John C. Reilly]

Because I'm sweating through my shirt. Personally, it looks great.

[Unknown]

Honestly. It's kind of like. I mean, that's like a signature look.

[John C. Reilly]

I wish it did kind of go along with humidity because then I can predict it, but it's usually just on a schedule of its own.

You can't tame this beast.

[Unknown]

No.

[John C. Reilly]

You can't cage this time.

You know, I used to try to tame it when I was a kid. I really wanted straight hair. And I kept telling my mom, can't you, like, give me a brush? I would brush it to the side and then. And I was thinking, I heard you could get your hair straightened. And I was like, I'm gonna get my hair straightened. And then one day, this kid in my class, Joe Reedy. Yeah. Who had really kinky curly hair, did get his hair straightened. This was in seventh grade. And I looked at him and I was like, even as a kid, I realized that is the saddest thing I've ever seen. And I'm never brushing my hair again.

[Unknown]

Right.

[John C. Reilly]

And I'm never going to get my hair straightened. And I literally stopped parting my hair on that day, and I've never done it since.

Thank you.

Unless it's a character.

Whatever.

[Unknown]

Yeah. Shout out to that guy.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah, I'm sure his curly hair came back. You know, it was mighty kinky.

Well, John, before we started podcasting, you recorded something over there with the homie Isaac. And you turn and you go, so is this the fits thing? And it.

It is.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

And what's the first thing we start off with?

[Unknown]

Lawrence John Christopher Riley. The first thing we'd like to do is a fit check. If you could just quickly walk us through everything that you wore to throwing fits today.

[John C. Reilly]

Check.

Exquisite outfit.

[Unknown]

You look great.

[John C. Reilly]

Dude made this hat. I don't remember who made this hat.

Do you know the type of hat?

Yes, the Panama straw hat, fedora. I always wear the brim up. Some people do this, but then.

[Unknown]

Oh, there he is.

[John C. Reilly]

Kind of makes you look like, I don't know, like your weird old uncle on vacation or something.

[Unknown]

A Nazi hiding in Brazil, maybe Argentina.

[John C. Reilly]

Yes. But, yeah, I'm not a Nazi.

He's not to be clear.

Yeah. And this is called a Wabash striped denim. And I'm a big fan of it because it kind of looks like pinstriping, but it's like, old school and has, like a train history to it.

Very Midwestern Chicago.

Yeah. Or. Or Southern. It's a very popular fabric that they make overalls out of. I'm a three piece man. I like to really. Yeah. And I'm especially these days, really into work wear, you know, like. Like the kind of jackets and pants that, like, painters wear.

Right.

Or carpenter pants or that kind of stuff. But you do it like in a three piece ensemble, elevated. This is by this company. They're called Bronson, I think Bronson Manufacturing. And there's a lot of these companies that you don't really know where they come from. It looks like maybe they took like a legacy name and bought the name or bought the logo and something. Anyway, they had a wabash stripe three piece suit in my size, so they became one of my favorites.

Do you do like any work, like work work in your workwear or is it just kind of like shooting in workwear fabrics?

I definitely do a lot of work in my workwear. I have another great. I just got a great work suit, chore, chore coat, pants ensemble from Mont St. Michel in France. They were like one of the original workwear companies from France. And I actually work in a friend of mine's pottery studio. I'm like his shop assistant. His name was Adam Silverman. And he makes these incredible giant clay pots and things. So I help him when it comes time to move things. I call myself the transportation coordinator. And I wear, I wear my work suit when I'm there, my shortcoat.

[Unknown]

A lot of guys in New York that are doing like a similar thing, they've never lifted a finger in their life. So we just had to ask.

[John C. Reilly]

You can spot those guys, right? No drinking.

$9 cortados right here, baby.

I, I mean, I literally have worked as a carpenter and you know, I've done a lot of manual labor jobs and I know my way around a complete set of tools.

So that hammer loop is hammering.

[Unknown]

Yeah, your pants don't fall down when you put one in.

[John C. Reilly]

What about the, the shirt, underneath the shirt?

I'm glad you asked because this is one of my favorite. Well, in general, I've come to really love custom shirts. And there's this company called Anto in Los Angeles that has been doing it for multiple generations. They had, they've been doing like every famous movie star, politician, mover, shaker, man for like the last 40 plus years or something. And when you go to their workshop in the Valley, they have, they took over this old bank to, to, to set up where they make the shirts. And in the vault, they have the sizes for all those people. You can see Frank Sinatra's sizes. Oh, like his shirt measurements.

[Unknown]

Right.

[John C. Reilly]

And when I did the Winning Time show on HBO about the Lakers and I played Dr. Jerry Buss, it turns out they had Jerry Bush, Jerry Buss's shirt measurements there. And a lot of the shirts that I wore in that show were just like copies of big old collars. Yeah. Very open, very polypop fly with those collars.

Did they have, like, Marlon Brando and then, like, fat Marlon Brando, like, you.

[Unknown]

Know, like, neck size went up a couple.

[John C. Reilly]

I don't know. I don't know. But I know this. That the press that I got about those shirts, I think is. That was my proudest moment on the whole experience of that show. I think it was in Vogue. They said, let's have a moment to talk about the shirts on Jerry Buss or something. And she went through, like, you know, like, how many buttons unbuttoned in this scene or that scene. And it was just this appreciation for the shirts and. And they're still killing it there.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

You know, Anto, they're doing better than.

[Unknown]

Winning time, if we're being honest. You know, that was.

[John C. Reilly]

Well, yeah.

So custom shirts. Is that. Is that a habit that came when you first got your first nomination? You're like, yo, I got nomination money. Now I can do custom shirts.

[Unknown]

Matrix money.

[John C. Reilly]

Well, it's one of those things, like, it's like rent or buy, you know, like.

True.

It really is. Like, you can buy a bunch of shirts off the. Off the shelf or whatever.

Yeah.

And they almost fit you. I mean, you get. If you know how to, you know, fit yourself in a shirt, you can. Because sometimes you have, you know, it's not just the sizes, but the cut of the shirt. The different brands fit differently. Some of them have all this room, some of them don't. So if you can fit yourself, you can get yourself pretty dialed in on a shirt off the. Off the. Off the shelf.

But no, it's the move for sure.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

Those shirts, they don't last very long, first of all.

Right.

They end up kind of getting uncomfortable. I mean, I had a. Used to buy a lot of shirts from Brooks Brothers, and the top of the collars would just start wearing out. And I was like, wow, this is actually a cheap shirt. Like. Yep. But if you go to a place like Anto, every single time you put it on, you're like, oh, this is my shirt. It even has my monograms. Yeah, but I. You go low key.

[Unknown]

Sure.

[John C. Reilly]

Right.

[Unknown]

Tonal. Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

Tone on tone.

[Unknown]

Jcr.

[John C. Reilly]

The nice tonal stripe on that bad boy, too, kind of.

That's the other thing you can go through. They have all these fabrics.

Yeah.

Pick all these different fabrics. And so what I'm saying is if you. You can invest in the front end of your clothes.

Right.

Or you can invest in the back end and like your pants by having to replace all these lame shirts that you bought from Macy's or whatever.

That's growth, that's wisdom.

Yeah, it's true.

And we talk about the kerchief.

[Unknown]

The neckerchief kerchief.

[John C. Reilly]

Yes. What about it?

[Unknown]

Who makes it? Where do we get one?

[John C. Reilly]

I don't know. Is this like a sartorial movie everywhere these days? I like a kerchief. I actually started wearing them when I made this movie, the Sisters Brothers, because I used to think like, oh, it's like this cowboy accessory and they would like rob banks by covering their faces with their kerchief. But really it's actually a very practical item number one, it keeps your shirts cleaner. Facts. So you don't get the grime on your collar when you sweat. And a lot of the sweat coming off your head is heading down your neck and into your, you know, then the, this thing catches it, right. And then through the evaporative process of water, you get cooled off by it. So even though you think like, people look at me like, oh man, how can you be wearing a three piece cotton suit and a, in a kerchief? Also? I'm like, well, actually, because of the evaporative process of water, of the ensemble. It's like, it's like I'm a walking air conditioner, you know?

[Unknown]

You are.

[John C. Reilly]

And then I realized, like when they put it over their faces, it was also a very practical thing for cowboys because they were just trying to keep the dust out of their noses.

And that's why they never had Covid in the Wild West.

[Unknown]

Exactly. Maybe you're a master of form meets function. That's what I'm learning.

[John C. Reilly]

Art and science.

I actually do. I actually, that is. You're on to something that I do think when things function really well and you understand the function of your clothes and how things are supposed to work. Like for instance, I don't know what this is for. I haven't seen the throat latch. But really there's two buttons. Two of them there, though. Yeah, yeah.

And there's two extra talk. There's two buttons here.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

Oh, well, there you go.

It's kind of like a. Yeah.

Something about my own clothes. Because if you were working around one. What about this? That's just a angular button.

[Unknown]

Oh, the angle.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah.

What is. Yeah, I don't know. What is that?

Let's find out.

[Unknown]

Okay.

[John C. Reilly]

Boots.

John, we, these are some boots.

These are some of my favorite boots. I, I, I started wearing these before Winning time, but I realized they were the perfect boot for Jerry Bus too. These are by a company called Lucchese. Oh, the best in Texas. A little boot called the Jonah.

[Unknown]

You comfortable right now?

[John C. Reilly]

Very comfortable.

[Unknown]

Feel free to.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah, yeah. I love a cowboy boot, but they can be a little hot all the way up your leg.

Right.

[Unknown]

And the side zip is easy access to on those. You know.

[John C. Reilly]

Exactly.

What about the last but not least, the panties? What are we rocking?

You had a pair of. Of ankle boots on.

[Unknown]

Same.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah. Was that you?

[Unknown]

That's me, baby.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah. Where did you get yours?

[Unknown]

Those are from a little brand called Our Legacy. Our friends have a brand in Stockholm.

[John C. Reilly]

Send you a link. Yeah, they're really, they're really versatile ones.

That I've seen that look anything like these. I was like, huh?

Yeah.

[Unknown]

On the same page, brother.

[John C. Reilly]

Definitely. Check those out.

John, what are the panties of the. The final piece of the panties?

My underwear.

Yes, yes, yes.

[Unknown]

What are you wearing?

[John C. Reilly]

Okay, so this is something I spent a lot of time researching good Zimmer leather. Have you. Have you guys with Zimmer Leap?

No.

Color wears?

No.

It's like the best underwear.

Zimmer.

Zimmer must be Swiss or okay, Swiss engineering someone from over there. And then Hanro is one of my favorite T shirt companies.

Really good.

[Unknown]

Classic.

[John C. Reilly]

Also Swiss or Swedish.

Yes. Oh, here's another kind of weird kind of bougie legacy brand that you may not have heard of. Not many people have. But I have it on good authority that the King of England buys his socks from here. It's in Rome and it's a place called Shastal. Yes, you have heard of it. You're just pretending.

No, I.

They make the most amazing pajamas, which I'm obsessed with pajamas too, because when not in a three piece suit, I'm in pajamas. I don't have a midway point. I have formal and pajamas, like you just said.

Either end of the spectrum.

Yeah, at a certain point I, like, I started, you know, it was around the time that I did the Sisters Brothers, actually. I always, always liked dressing like this. But I'd get like self conscious. Like, what are you? What are you, some kind of cowboy from the 1800s? Like, come on. And I thought, you know what, you're an eccentric person. I had like a major health scare where I was like, you know what? From this point forward, I'm going to do whatever the fuck I want to. I'm an eccentric person. I'm going to dress like an eccentric person and I'm going to dress to enjoy myself.

[Unknown]

Love them.

[John C. Reilly]

So, yeah, so pajamas. Pajamas. I forgot where I was going with that.

Like, I saw the light at the end of tunnel and then I just realized pajamas. No, you're an eccentric guy. Like, so this health scare happened. You're like, you know what? I'm going to do whatever the fuck I want. I'm going to wear pajamas and three piece suits.

Three piece suits? Yeah.

Anyway, how else, like what else in your life kind of manifested or came to be from that? I don't give a any more attitude after this health scare besides your sartorial endeavors.

Oh, I know what I was gonna say.

Okay, okay.

Thank you for reminding me. That's.

[Unknown]

He just watched some time.

[John C. Reilly]

That's my job.

I was stalling at a certain point. You know, I remember when, when I was growing up, my father was. My father was in the Korean War, but he, he was very much of the World War II mentality, like, culturally, he identified with those guys more in a way than men of his own generation. So he's very old school. I remember growing up and seeing what he wore and what he. How he dressed every day. And then as I got older, as I moved past like 21, 22, 25, 30. 35. I found myself around 35 years old going like, why am I still dressing like I'm trying to look like I'm 21, I'm 35. And then I thought, did my dad ever dress like he was trying to dress like me? And I was like, hell no. My dad was like, I'm a grown ass man. I'm not interested, no offense, in baseball hats or T shirts with writing on them. I'm a grown ass man. I've earned the right to dress how I want to dress.

Not read.

It's going to be formal. You know, it's like, it's like, own it, you know, like, own who you are and own the gravitas that you've earned. So at a certain point in my life, I just decided, you know what? I'm just going to dress the way I want to dress. And all of a sudden I started getting all this attention about the way that I was dressing and invited to things like this to talk about fits. Yeah, Really? I mean, GQ wrote an article about me a few years ago. John C. Reilly is a style God.

How'd that went through your head when you saw that?

Yeah, I was like, thank you.

[Unknown]

Goddamn.

[John C. Reilly]

Took a lot of effort, you know, like, it was the year I went to Cannes. I had like four movies there going back, I think this year. Yes, But I had like four movies that year, so I was everywhere. So it was like a joke how many red carpets I was on.

Yeah.

And I thought, well, if you're going to do that, why don't you just like roll like the ladies roll, you know, like get some gowns, get. I wasn't wearing gowns, but you know, get some Luke's L E W K S. Yeah. You know.

Hell yeah.

And then it just paid off. I was like, wow. I actually did notice that I brought a cane to can with, with a duck's head on it and a three piece lint white linen suit and a few different kind of hats. I do want to talk about hats because there are a couple great hat companies in the world.

[Unknown]

Sure.

[John C. Reilly]

You may or may not be aware.

How many hats do you own, do you think?

Well, sadly, a lot of my own personal belongings have perished in a fire. So I used to have quite a few hats. I saved. I've saved some real special ones to me in the scramble before the fires happened. But there's a company in Italy called Peroni Hats. They have been making. They don't make them for sale. They won't even. They won't sell you one. They make them. They've been making body armor and chest plates and hats for like 100 years. Like every major movie from like Cleopatra to Lincoln with Danny Day Lewis. The hats or anything leather or armor wise is from these people. And they gave me a couple of hats when I was there. I just made up this spaghetti western. They're called Testo Crochet Heads or Tails, which is the one that's going to be at Cannes this year anyway. That's an amazing company. But to me, the best hat makers for men in the world to me is a company in Chicago on the south side of Chicago called Optimo Hats. This guy Graham took over this legacy African American hat shop on the south side of Chicago. This old guy taught him how to do it. That guy passed away. Now Graham has this empire of Optimo hats. He took over an old fire station on the south side of Chicago where he builds them. He has a beautiful showroom in downtown Chicago. So for my money, Optimo Hats is, is pretty great. There was a great hat store in Altadena called Wellema, but unfortunately they got lost in the fire also.

Is this your preferred hat style because you are a man of many hats?

I do, yeah. I like this style. I like almost a homburg style with the center crease like that. Anything too pinchy or too. I don't know. There's been a lot of bad hats in the last 15 years. A lot of this you don't. Pie action.

[Unknown]

Oh, yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

You have to understand the. The geometry of hats to really how.

It goes with your face too, Right?

[Unknown]

Of course.

[John C. Reilly]

Exactly.

[Unknown]

It's like sunglasses.

[John C. Reilly]

So there's this oval shape. Right. And then this. The distance of the brim is very specific to the shape of your face and the measurements of your face.

So, you know, this sounds like art and science.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

Once again, you're a scientific man.

[John C. Reilly]

Science. Yeah. Well, if you go to a good hat store, they'll be able to fit you. Not just like the hat fitting you, but they'll look at your face and be able to tell you, oh, you should go with a little bit of a wider brim or your face is more almond shaped, so don't go too wide or whatever. And a lot of times when people are like, oh, I just. I don't feel comfortable in hats. I just, I like hats. I think they're cool, but when I put them on, I feel like. And I was like, well, that's. I always tell people that is the whole secret to wearing hats is just own it. I know this thing is on my head and I'm okay with it.

[Unknown]

Confidence is key.

[John C. Reilly]

And the guy at the hat store told me it fits my face real good.

[Unknown]

So he's trying to sell you a hat.

[John C. Reilly]

So. Yeah, but it's.

Come on.

[Unknown]

No, it does, it does. It's your look. It's your look.

[John C. Reilly]

You look great.

And every old school city has like an old hat store. New Orleans has a great hat store. Who's the name? I. Escapes me right now. But you know, those kind of places, like, there's. There used to be a bunch of them on Delancey down here where the Hasidic guys would buy their felt hats. That's where I used to buy my hats when I lived in New York.

Do you. Is there like a rare hat that you're like, on the hunt for, like, that has proven elusive to you? Well, you're white.

Well, hats. Hats are like, they're, in a way, they're kind of disposable because, you know, they wear out or they get sweaty or whatever. And so to me, the ones I'm always chasing are the hats that I already had that wore out. And like, even with a place like Optimo that has been making. I think this might be from Optimo. Anyway, those kind of places, like, they, they, they're like fashion, you know, they go, they don't have this ribbon anymore. They had it when they made your hat. And then that's it. Right, so this, the hats I'm always chasing, are those kind of hats, the.

[Unknown]

Ones that got away?

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah. And there's a great hat store in, in England, in London called Shoot. What the hell's the name of it? It's like 700 years old or something, the store. And they have this incredible machine there. So if you ever see like I wear a bowler hat for Stan and Ollie, this movie where I played Oliver Hardy, and bowler hats, you know, by nature they're like hard as a rock, you know, and when you, if you just put on a bowler hat off the shelf or whatever, you would quickly discover you'll have a headache because it's going to be squeezing your skull in places that it's just pinching too hard in one place and a little too loose in another place. So there's this French guy who invented this machine in the 1800s and they have one at this place. What the hell's the name of it? It's not churches. That's the shoes.

Yeah, Benchmade.

[Unknown]

You can look it up.

[John C. Reilly]

Just look up oldest hatter in London and it will pop up. Anyway, they have Lock and Co. What? Lock and Company. John Lock Hats. Yes. Yeah.

C.O. hatters on St. James.

Yeah.

Founded in 1676.

[Unknown]

God damn.

[John C. Reilly]

I'm not kidding. Like it's been around.

[Unknown]

Yeah, we believe you now.

[John C. Reilly]

So this machine that they have and there was invented by a French guy. But they essentially, they put this thing on top of your head. It looks like an oval shaped typewriter or something.

[Unknown]

Medieval torture.

[John C. Reilly]

They put it on your head and has all these crazy like metal fingers that come out from around it and they put it on your head and they. And it measures the exact shape of your skull. So if you've got a little divot here or, or your mom dropped you in the back and right. Or whatever, like makes this perfect map of your head. And so then they put this little piece of paper on the top of this machine and it punches the pattern, the perfect pattern of your head. And then that's like a key for the machine. So if you go to Locke and Company, they have all these patterns from famous people framed in there. I think mine's in there.

Really?

[Unknown]

Oh, wow.

[John C. Reilly]

John C. Reilly, Shakespeare.

So then they take that little map, that little key of the shape of your head and, and put it in this other machine that does the steaming and then each one of those dots, each one of those perforations Is a setting for these different arms on thing and then it sets it in the perfect shape of your head and then it. They steam like a bowler hat. Yeah, they steam it so that then when you put it on perfect, it's the exact like a glove shape of your misshapen skull. You know, it won't give you a headache. Anyway, used for good.

So you like hats?

I love hats. It's kind of an actor's cliche to like hats.

Oh, cuz wear a lot of hats?

Well, yeah. I don't know. It's like I thought it was.

I thought it was mas.

It's like, it's like a cliche in movies. You know, trying on different hats in the mirror. I don't like this one. I like this one. Hey, this is wacky. It's like as you know, do you.

Own more hats or more clown paintings?

Well, this is another sad fire question.

[Unknown]

Oh, no, bro.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah, but at this point, I own more hats than clown paintings. I have about 150 clown paintings.

Wow. What's the most you've ever spent on a piece of clown art?

Probably I bought a series of seven by the same artist. They're all amateur painters that I collect. I bought that was about 3,500 bucks on eBay for all seven of them. So it seemed insane at the time.

But it still does.

But I saved those. I saved those.

[Unknown]

And you're supporting, you know, unknown artists, right? Not unknown, but not like it's not Jeff Koons.

[John C. Reilly]

Well, we're going off on a tangent here away from fashion, but I will talk about clowns and clown paintings if you want to hear about them.

Yeah, we're not only fashion guys.

So here's what I love about clown paintings. In particular amateur clown paintings. So when you are a clown and I used to be a clown when I was a kid and you could argue I still am a clown. You know, some of the work I've done is definitely clownish, Oscar nominated clown, but. Oh boy, I hope this car alarm goes off.

[Unknown]

No, it's not picking up.

[John C. Reilly]

Please ignore it again. So clowns, when. When you discover what your makeup is as a clown? I have tons of clown friends now still in la. There's a whole clown scene. Community.

[Unknown]

Clown community.

[John C. Reilly]

I'm not you laughing, but it really is a thing.

Are they like an insane posse of them?

[Unknown]

Like.

[John C. Reilly]

No, not juggalos. Like clowns. Like people that are into. It's basically, it's an art form, a very physical form of improv in a way. It's not Most of them don't even wear makeup. But anyway, so when. But when you are a clown that wears makeup, the way it goes is that you go through this kind of spiritual vision quest when you're learning to be a clown, to see who you are as a clown, and eventually one day the makeup kind of appears to you, or you start trying to find who you are as a clown, and then you find it, and then that's you. And it's like this taboo thing to take another clown. Okay, makeup design.

[Unknown]

Right, right.

[John C. Reilly]

So the reason I love clown amateur clown paintings is because there's these three levels, then the one level, there's the. There's the design of that clown's makeup so that there's a. There's like an encapsulation of that clown's personality. Then there is the interpretation of an amateur painter's version of that guy's clown guy or girl's clown makeup. And then when you. The paintings I love the most are the. Are where you see the person inside there too, through their eyes or through their emotion. So there's these three levels of the graphic design of the clown. There's the interpretation of that graphic design, and then there's the real person peeking out through that. And I don't know, I personally found that really fascinating.

[Unknown]

That was deep as hell.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

I just learned a lot about clowning.

[John C. Reilly]

Is your. Is your ebay just like set?

You should check out this woman, Natalie Palamides.

Natalie.

She did. She has a special on Netflix called Nate, A one man show. She's an incredible clown. She has a new show she's been doing. She's in London right now doing it called Weird W E E R. Anyway, she is. She's a boss clown.

Boss clown.

[Unknown]

What was your clown name?

[John C. Reilly]

I had a guy named Cletus who was like a country bumpkin. Cletus? Yeah, yeah. He's kind of like wore a plaid suit and he had buck teeth. He's like, well, hey, I'm just in the city. How much does it cost? Like, he was always like a really gullible guy, you know?

Got any hats?

You said that bridge is for sale. How much is it? I got $50. And then this other one I did was really like an homage to. I met Kelly Jr. Emma Kelly, the famous hobo clown.

Right. What was your makeup, your identity?

Well, the Emma Kelly one was almost exactly like Emma Kelly. Pictures of it somewhere.

But what was Cletus looking like besides.

The teeth and the big red mouth and like the. This crazy shock of Orange hair and a plaid suit.

[Unknown]

Did you audition for any of the. For the Joker movie or anything? Like, since?

[John C. Reilly]

No, I was. I was asked about that first one. Not to be the Joker himself, but.

[Unknown]

And you're like, if I'm not the Joker, I'm not gonna be in it. I'm a real clown.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah. I had just done Sisters Brothers with Joaquin. I was like, I don't know if we want to follow up Sisters Brothers with us being clowns together.

[Unknown]

It's an intense guy.

[John C. Reilly]

You want to know how I got these hats? I do want to ask about kind of. Kind of swinging back to your fashion. So both your sons, Leo and Arlo, they're both really into fashion, like, on the, you know, modeling side, designing clothes. Have they helped you with your swag? Like, is that a conversation you guys are engaged with together?

Not really, No. I have always encouraged my sons to, like, find their own style, you know, like, and even with me, I'm, like, not sitting here advocating that everyone should wear this. You know, like, I wear this because it makes me happy, and I think it's fun to wear, and it's. It just makes me comfortable.

It's like finding your. Your identity for your face paint.

Exactly.

Your makeup.

Yeah, in a way, it is. It's kind of a spiritual. It's a very personal quest, like, finding what it is that. Finding how you want to represent yourself to the world. Yes, we preach that. My one son, Leo, actually went to fashion school at one point and designs a lot of his own clothes. Or he'll take things and cut them up and add them to together, but so they.

So they haven't really. So this really is like your own. The result of your own journey. It's not like the kids being like, yo, dad, you should check out, like.

No. In fact, this whole idea of, like, having someone else give you swag or having someone else style you, I think is really lame, I have to say.

[Unknown]

Preach it.

[John C. Reilly]

I think this whole idea, like, you see these things. Like, there was a famous event recently here in New York City where people were, like, strutting around as if it was the Hunger Games, dressed in these crazy outfits, some of them very beautiful, some of them very well made. But for the most part, when I see someone. If you can guess who someone is wearing, that's a fail to me right there. If you see someone wearing a great outfit, you should go, wow, you look amazing. How can I do that? Or, how did you pull that off? Not like, you look Prada, you know, whatever. You know, like, it's just so. I mean, people that have no style love to be dressed by labels because they don't have to think about anything. They have these sort of professionals turn you into a billboard. And a lot of times when I see people in the fashion press or on red carpets or whatever, the clothes are wearing them for sure, you know that they're not. You're not really learning anything about who they are. You're learning about, oh, this is what Gucci thinks is cool this year, right? And here's this person dressed up like a doll in Gucci. Yeah, that's not to say that, you know, those, that those clothes aren't good or the designers aren't brilliant. And, you know, look, there's a reason that fashion has stayed so popular and these things are compelling to look at and it's an evolving art form. I'm not throwing shade on that stuff, but I think personally that the world would be a lot more interesting and a lot more beautiful if everyone took their own style as their own responsibility. And if you just kind of picked and choose, if you wore a Gucci hat and, you know, this jacket from a thrift store and then these lucchese boots or whatever, and you put it all together now you're making a style statement that's you. It's an expression of who you are. You know, I have a friend, this guy Joey in Los Angeles, and he, he's a designer, not a clothing designer. He works in like, you know, scenic design and stuff. And I always, he always has the most amazing looks, but it'll be like an old bucket hat turned into a Peter Pan looking hat. And then, like, he just finds the craziest, oldest stuff. He never buys anything new, but the way he puts it together with a handkerchief here and this weird little thing, that little thing, you're like, oh, my God, you're the most fat. He's one of the most fashionable people I know, one of the most stylish men I know. And I tell him that every time I say, you know, Joey, I know I'm wearing this, whatever, this whole get up, which I bought, you know, but to do what you do requires real style. Any monkey can be dressed by someone, right? But to really understand what makes your body look cool or what, what evokes a certain style that you admire, like, that takes. That takes time, you know, you have to invest in it. And I think any of the big fashion houses, any of the big designers would agree with me, actually. But because of the way the marketplace works, right, Celebrities Dressing in your clothes is one of the best ways to get your stuff out there. And I understand why people do it, but I mean, personally, I think style should be. People should take more pride in their personal style and not let the marketplace or the trend tell them. Like, I didn't start wearing this stuff because of a trend. I started wearing it because, like I just was laying in bed one day.

[Unknown]

I was like, in pajamas.

[John C. Reilly]

Would be really cool. Is like instead of wa bass drive overalls, like a wabash stripe three piece suit. That would be cool. Where do I find that? And then you just pull stuff together and you find it. Then all of a sudden someone watches it or takes a picture of it and like, this is the new trend.

Style. God.

It wasn't. Yeah, yeah, exactly. But it was me going like what really feels like an honest expression of your curiosity. Move through the world.

[Unknown]

Journey.

[John C. Reilly]

Were you ever.

This is important stuff to talk about.

No, absolutely. We are always.

It's about human beings. You know, it's not about commerce and industry and. And, you know, status. It's about like human expression. That's really important.

[Unknown]

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[John C. Reilly]

Lawrence, look at my face. Look at me. Do you see how non greasy and matte my face is looking right now? That's because I'm all about the base layer. It's a nutrient rich moisturizer that not only absorbs quickly, it provides a non greasy matte finish, as aforementioned.

[Unknown]

Yeah, shout out to base layer, but also, oh man, that eye serum. Every day I'm starting with that ice serum as a BDI motherfucker, I need this shit. Because it reduces the appearance of tired eyes, including dark circles and puffiness. You know I got that. Well, not anymore. 75% of users reported diminished darkness under their eyes, myself included. Whether you're starting fresh or upgrading your routine, Caldera Lab makes skincare simple and effective. Do not settle for drugstore junk or steal your partner's products. Come on, guys. Elevate your routine and skincare made for you. Head to caldera lab.com/throwing fits and use thrung fits at checkout for 20% off your first order.

[John C. Reilly]

Did you ever have, do you ever find yourself kind of caught up in the marketplace where you were just like wearing the clothes that you were told to wear?

Definitely, when I was younger and I have, I have a lot of sympathy for younger people coming into the, into the world of entertainment and stuff now, like, it's just kind of a conveyor belt to get you out there. And I understand that. And, and you know, I came, I come from a super working class background, so when I first was coming up into movies and stuff and people cared enough to dress me, you know, a place like Prada willing to give you five free suits, you know, you're like, shit, if you're from the south side of Chicago, you're like, hell yeah, I can have a belt too. You know, like, you know, it's like it was, it was like a dream come true to have these fancy clothes all of a sudden and be accepted, you know, in, in that way, in that style world. But, but once, once you, once you grow up a little bit and you understand like more about who you are, why not just express yourself instead of this whole thing of like borrowing clothes for an event and like having to give them back. This sounds really sad to me. Like you wouldn't believe the places that I've passed on. Really? Yeah, but I'm not gonna throw them under the bus. I'm not gonna.

So anytime we see John C. Reilly on the red carpet, now that is your outfit that you put together from your brain and from your, I would say, own personal self expression.

With some exceptions, you know, like things like tuxedos.

Sure, yeah.

You know, not going to get a custom made tuxedo because whatever you want to kind of go with the times and, and trends do change in that way. Although a nice shawl collar or something like some of those things will never change my book, you know. But I would say if you, if you did like a Google search, image search of me, John C. Reilly, wearing a suit, say the last 10 years, almost everyone was a custom made suit fire. Hell yeah. From people in London, this weird guy named David Saxby, we had a shop in Putnam that would make these incredible. Like he was part of this whole movement in London called chappies. People that wear like the old fashioned tweeds with the velvet trim on the collar and stuff and ride bikes and.

[Unknown]

Like, like penny farthings.

[John C. Reilly]

Not penny farthings, but like, oh, it's like an old school English gentleman kind of look but with, with like Brooks.

Like the Brooks leather saddle and like the.

Yeah, exactly like. Exactly like that. So British hipsters. Yeah. And that was. And a lot of times these things will dovetail with. With what I'm doing. Like, when I was getting a lot of those suits made, it was. I was doing this movie with Will Feral in London, and a lot of my characters costumes were these tweed suits. And I was like, well, I already have a guy. All the suits I wore in that movie were from this guy, David Saxby. And then when I was doing the Sisters Brothers, it was like these cowboy looks. And I was working with this brilliant designer, Milena Cananera. Like, worked with Stanley Kubrick, for Christ's sake. Like, so I had, you know, this amazing style goddess advising me about what was right for that period in the 1850s. But then I also thought, like, well, I don't want to just be wearing, like, a track suit when I'm at the hotel and then come to work and pretend to be a cowboy. I want to feel like this all the time. So a lot of times with what I'm doing.

Method swag.

Method swag.

[Unknown]

It's emotional for you, clearly, which is nice. It's refreshing.

[John C. Reilly]

Well, it is, isn't it? The most personal thing. We agree with you. Like, what you decide to wear. You're speaking your language, and sometimes you know it. Really. Who is that woman? There was a woman. I think she's Canadian, a famous designer. I heard this incredible interview with her on the radio where she talked about contemporary clothes and. And what it means. Like, what you're really saying was her name Meredith something. She's a very famous costume designer. I should know her name. I'm embarrassed. I'll get it to you.

It does sound like you. You pull a lot of inspiration, or at least, like, you get to explore new avenues of sartorial. Your sartorial curiosity through your characters that you played throughout the years. If you could only dress in the wardrobe of one of the characters that you played for the rest of your life. Who you choosing?

Well, I'm a big fan of the 1920s that those look. Excuse me, those looks. So Chicago the Musical, my character was very much in that. In fact, I loved that character, Mr. Cellophane, so much. Colleen Atwood designed that costume with me in. In cooperation with me. Like, I was like, I think it should be more like a vaudeville clown. And. And so we had this great collaboration about. I still have that costume, by the way.

[Unknown]

So not read Rothchild.

[John C. Reilly]

I mean, I'm a child of the 70s, so I do appreciate those looks.

[Unknown]

You look awesome.

[John C. Reilly]

I Love wearing.

[Unknown]

Right.

[John C. Reilly]

Sex symbol as hell. I love wearing those jeans.

Down lower.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

Who I see myself as is more kind of a throwback, someone with more of a vintage feel. Like someone who doesn't listen to podcasts.

[Unknown]

You're an old dream. You can just say that. You don't even.

[John C. Reilly]

Does not have any social media at all in their life other than for my show, which I don't maintain or whatever.

[Unknown]

So don't DM that.

[John C. Reilly]

Let's talk. Let's talk about that show. So Mr. Romantic, right, has.

Yeah.

So is in, like, the vaudeville style of theater.

Yeah. Literally. I did that character, Mr. Cellophane, and it was this big, splashy movie, and I got a lot of attention for it. And then it just ended. And there aren't that many musicals made. And I thought, like, what a shame. Like, I really liked doing that, and people seem to really respond to it. Oscar seemed to like it.

[Unknown]

The Academy.

[John C. Reilly]

Anyway, I was. Was kind of pining to go back to it because I. Like I said, I grew up doing musicals from the time I was, like, 8 years old. And I thought, how do I get. How can I do that? And I was meditating about it for years and years, maybe 15 years. And every once in a while, I'd hear a song like, ooh, that Irving Berlin song. What'll I Do? That is a. That is a song of. In that character style. And then I realized all the songs that I was picking over the years for that. For that project were all romantic songs. They're all about love. They're all about, like, wearing your heart in your sleeve a lot, like Mr. Sulphane. So I started calling him Mr. Romantic. And now we have this album coming out of all these American Songbook standards. And I have this sort of vaudeville show that I do that really has, like, an empathy mission where I kind of just. The whole show is like a meditation on love.

Right.

Could you be loved? Are you lovable? Because could you love someone forever? Here's another question this show kind of asks. Exactly. I've been married for 32 years. Could you. Could you love someone? You don't know.

[Unknown]

Oh, big question.

[John C. Reilly]

Can you love someone just because they're a human being? You know, these are. It's a silly kind of playful vaudeville show with all this music and goofing around.

Right.

But the questions that it asks are those questions which end up being really deep. Yeah.

Have you been surprised at how much this show has resonated with people?

Oh, my gosh. I just. We just did our biggest show in, in Austin recently at the Paramount Theater during South by Southwest. And I'm telling you, man, it was like, it felt like the audience was literally like a sponge. Just like anytime I said anything like I love you or I see you or look how many beautiful people there are here tonight. You could just feel people like, oh, they're so sick of being beaten up by the news and the bad news and the war and the degradation of human beings. Like to, to come to a theater and feel like you're part of everyone there and the person on stage cares about you. Like it's a real tonic for the times. And I started doing this about three years ago and it's gotten even more urgent this, this mission since I started doing it. So, you know, it's a break even thing.

[Unknown]

It really is not a money maker.

[John C. Reilly]

Well, only because I do it on a small scale and you know, like, you know, it's like covering songs from the 1930s is not going to make anyone a bajillionaire. Like, right. But the point I'm making is like I decided like, what can I do to help the world? What can I do myself? Well, I can sing. I like to sing. I can dance around. I can make people laugh. I can tell them I love them. Like maybe that's what I contribute.

[Unknown]

Thank you for your service.

[John C. Reilly]

It's clown. It's, it's clownery.

It's definitely clowning. Yeah, fully clowning. So yeah, that's what I decided to do. I don't think there's any other actors of my experience or reputation who are out there doing a vaudeville show with live musicians. How do you correct me if I'm wrong? I wish there were more, but there aren't. Steve Martin and Esque Steve Martin, one of my all time heroes.

I don't think your lawyer, Eskimo, bro.

I've never met him.

[Unknown]

Really.

[John C. Reilly]

I've never met him because it was one of those people like soon I could have.

Right.

But I was just so. Especially I really wanted to meet him after I read his autobiography, Born Standing Up. But then I even just resisted that because I just think like when you hold people up like Bob Dylan, like I've been offered the chance to meet Bob Dylan before, but we have the same birthday. I held. I hold him in such high regard that, that he, he's a very person, a very important person in my psyche and I didn't want him to be a human being.

[Unknown]

I didn't want to be a God.

[John C. Reilly]

An entrepreneur, dinner or whatever. I want him to Be that's important person to me. And I think maybe he would even appreciate that, you know, like, sure, just let me be, you know, who I am to myself, and I can be who I am to you, and that's fine. We don't.

[Unknown]

Which is Dewey Cox, probably to Bob Dylan, if anyone. Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

He was really nice about Stan and Ollie. He went on and on and talked about it on his radio show about how much he loved Stan and Ollie.

[Unknown]

That's amazing.

[John C. Reilly]

And I listened to that recording and it was like, the first time I realized, like, Bob Dylan knows who I am.

[Unknown]

That's so.

[John C. Reilly]

And I started crying, like, wow. Burst into tears, like. So, anyway, yeah, Steve Martin, one of my early heroes. I literally made my own arrow through the head when I was a kid in seventh grade. That was the first concert I ever went to with Steve Martin. I mean, I was obsessed with Steve Martin. I knew all his records, all his jokes, everything. He. He formed the kind of absurd sense of humor that I have. I think so, yeah. And Steve Martin is another person who's not afraid to step out of his lane. Yeah. You know, you know me as this movie star, you know me as this comedian, but guess what? I can play the banjo. And I. And I enjoy playing the banjo. And maybe people want to hear me play the banjo, so I'm going to do that. You know, I love that. I think it's really important that people feel like just because the world has put you in a lane doesn't mean you have to stay there. And, in fact, I think the world would be a much richer, much more beautiful place if every single person did the things that they yearn to do secretly. You know, sing that song or write that poem.

Buy that suit.

[Unknown]

Yeah, yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

Or design that suit. Design that, for that matter. You know, like, find a fabric. There are so many tailors out there that are dying to make you a suit. Or even if you bought a suit that doesn't quite fit you and you're like, well, I could just roll up the sleeves, go see a tailor. They need the work.

[Unknown]

Seek professional help.

[John C. Reilly]

Truly. And then it will be perfectly, you know, fit your armor.

How do you. How do you have so much love inside of you, John?

Well, I don't interact with social media. That's the first thing.

Step noted.

Right?

I mean, you're not honestly deleting Instagram right now?

Sometimes, like, when I do these interviews. Not you guys, you guys seem perfectly normal. But sometimes.

Thank you.

Sometimes when I do these things, you can. When people who heavily traffic in social Media. Yeah. And I'm not judging it. It's like, that's a great way to make a living and whatever it's. But you can see sometimes people are like, wow, what is it about this guy? He's. He seems, like, on another wavelength altogether. Like, and it's because I'm not following that. In a way, I'm, like, walking around through the world completely blind because I don't know what everyone else is obsessed with. All I know is, like, the world is still out here, you guys.

[Unknown]

Yeah, right. Come join me.

[John C. Reilly]

Regardless of what's trending, like, there's. There's real life to be had out here. Yeah. So how do I have so much love inside me? Like, I just don't think there's. There's. There isn't much choice if you want to be alive. Like, I think, honestly, I don't know why. I don't know why we feel it. All I know is, like, I try to be honest with myself and I try to do the. I don't know. There's just something. Maybe it's Christian or something. I was born raised Catholic. Do unto others, you know, Treat your brother as you would. Treat yourself.

[Unknown]

Like, golden rule, baby.

[John C. Reilly]

That's just. That's just good advice. And it makes civilization work. You were.

You were a naughty little boy growing up. How badly did your Irish Catholic dad beat your ass for stealing 500 boxes of cereal from a train?

My dad never found out about that, thankfully, and he never will.

Okay. All right.

Yeah, there was a railroad. A rail. You know, railroad tracks that went straight through my neighborhood in Chicago. And they would often stop. And I figured out through my older brothers, like, you could just go up there and take a rock bash off that padlock, and then who knows what's going to be in that train?

500.

So when I finally got the nerve to do it with my friends, I crawled up on the embankment, smashed this lock off, which is a felony already right there.

[Unknown]

Statute limitations are good.

[John C. Reilly]

Your kids at home, though, thinking about doing this? It's no joke to rob a train.

[Unknown]

But you are a cowboy, dude.

[John C. Reilly]

Smash this padlock off. And we pulled the door open, and it was fucking sugar corn pops from floor to ceiling.

[Unknown]

Let's go the mother load.

[John C. Reilly]

And we took, like, 500 boxes, but there were probably a thousand more boxes on that train. And my friend, luckily, my friend Bobby Zajak lived right next door to the railroad tracks, so we made like, a fire bucket brigade from the train to his basement window and just. Just moved 500 boxes of sugar.

[Unknown]

How many did you eat?

[John C. Reilly]

Eventually, that was the problem because I couldn't really bring a lot of them home because my mom would be like, where the hell did you get this cereal? And after a while, we'd have cereal parties in Bobby's basement.

Wow.

Where we'd go and, like, help ladies with their groceries at the grocery store for change. Then we'd use that change to buy milk. And then we'd go and have a cereal party back at Bobby Zajak's house. Then eventually, I, like, I don't want to have to go to Bobby's house every time. I'm going to take some of these home. And then my mom was like, where did you get this? I was like, helping ladies with their groceries. She's like, what? Spit it out. And I was like, no, no, just never mind. I stopped bringing them home.

[Unknown]

Smart move.

[John C. Reilly]

All right, well, you skated.

But, you know, I told you I was born Catholic. A raised Catholic. And right around that time, confession, which used to be this kind of scary thing in a dark closet where you didn't really see the priest. And you know, what have you done? And you'd admit your sins and you'd make up some very lightweight sin.

Sure.

Just so you'd have something to say and, like, not really say the real things. Right. Well, they. After Vatican II or whatever, some kind of reformation of the church. Like, we're not doing confession in the booth anymore. Now we're going to do face to face confession where it's just. You sit in a room with the priest. Yikes. And I was like, oh, shit. And I walked into this room, there's the priest, this guy I know very well from church and stuff. And he's like, so. Well, you know, they would say the regular rites and stuff, these kind of little prayer things, and then what have you done? And, like, sitting there face to face with him, I just could not say, like, I took the Lord's name in vain, which is what I usually said. I was like, I robbed a train. I couldn't lie to him face to face like that. And he would. His first thing he said was like, well, you know that's a felony.

[Unknown]

Right. He's familiar with the legal system, clearly.

[John C. Reilly]

So priests, if you. If you say, I murdered someone, I think they have to tell the cops. But.

But.

And the other felony, I murdered this cereal.

Yeah.

Crush. And he was like, say this many Hail Mary. Say this many Our fathers, and give $20 to the poor basket. Not the collection basket in church, but at the very back of the church was like, you know, a hungry kid in a picture, and you're supposed to. And everyone knew if you put money in that basket, you really up, right?

[Unknown]

You're like, can I give him some cereal? I don't have any cash. But.

[John C. Reilly]

So I was like, $20? You might as well have said $2,000 at the time.

You had to go steal some more cereal and sell it.

And I remember I was so guilty, though. I said as many of the prayers that I could, and I lost count. Like, I think that was 10. Hail Mary. It's like. And then on the way out, I just reached in my pocket. I had, like, $3 and 17 cents, and I put it in the basket, and you could. Right away, people are looking at me like, oh, what did you do?

You up?

So I owe Jesus, like, 16 and 75 cents. Yeah.

[Unknown]

Somewhere he's keeping track for sure.

[John C. Reilly]

Well, look, I'm glad that we're glad that you. You pivoted careers from petty criminal life to acting, right. And you put together that crime.

It was just weird, you know?

[Unknown]

Like, no, it's crime.

[John C. Reilly]

We would call the police pigs and throw rocks at their cars just to get them to chase, you know? Like, we didn't really care about what the cops did. We just wanted to have fun. And we knew they would not catch us because the way we knew the neighborhood. Yeah.

Petty petty crime. Petty crime. But in your storied acting career, you've worked with a literal who's who of legendary directors. We just want to do a little game of rapid fires. We're running up towards the end of our time here.

Okay.

We just want to know what's the first thing that comes to your mind when we mention Brian De Palma?

Brian De Palma. That was my first film. I was 22 years old. I met Sean Penn on that film, who became, like, a real protector of mine and someone that advocated for me for the next two movies after that. So thank you, Sean. Like, at home, I owe my whole career to you and Brian and Art Linson. So. Also, the first time I took an airplane.

[Unknown]

Oh.

[John C. Reilly]

I met my future wife on that movie who worked for Sean.

You didn't want to take a train. You had train trauma.

Yeah.

Because the petty crime of robbing a trainer.

Oh, no, it's because it was in Thailand.

He's like, no, trains train to Thailand.

Yeah. Anyway, I could talk a long time about each one of these, but that was a major change. It was the first time I'd ever been on an airplane.

That's pretty Scared?

Yeah. No, I wasn't very scared. But I remember sitting. I was in first class at one point for one of the legs, and I was looking at this menu, and I turned to this guy next to me and I was like, excuse me, sir, can you tell me what a prawn is? And he's like, it's kind of a big shrimp.

He looked at you like you were a Cletus the Yokel.

[Unknown]

Yeah. Speaking of elegant guy, speaking of planes, Tony Scott. You were in a car in this movie or around cars.

[John C. Reilly]

Days of Thunder. Yes. One of two NASCAR movies that I made.

[Unknown]

That's right.

[John C. Reilly]

Not many people can say that.

[Unknown]

No.

[John C. Reilly]

Nor would they want to.

[Unknown]

Tony Scott, rip to the guy.

[John C. Reilly]

What do you think of, like, one of the. I mean, God rest his soul, you know, he died in tragic circumstances.

Fireflake.

Yeah.

[Unknown]

Incredible.

[John C. Reilly]

What?

Fireflick. Days of Thunder.

Shout out, TC Yeah. So Tony Scott was like one of these people who, like, I'm almost like a throwback, like John Ford or somebody. Like, just out there. We're gonna do it. Yeah, man. Go, man. God, like, he. He just made everything so fun and just. You just felt like you were really accomplishing something great every day with Tony.

[Unknown]

Incredible.

[John C. Reilly]

Paul Thomas Anderson.

Paul was. Is still one of my best friends. I'd made three movies with him. Yeah, I don't know. What. What. What was the question? Just.

[Unknown]

Just what do you think?

[John C. Reilly]

Do I know him?

[Unknown]

Like, he was so young when you filmed Boogie.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah, he was like, that's crazy. Youngest person. He was another.

He was another guy that was kind of like a big proponent of. Of you as an actor.

Absolutely. He was one of the first people that saw, like, I think the movie. The first movie I made with him was originally called Hard 8. Yeah, it's really called Sydney, but it was my 13th film. And he was the first person of all those directors I worked with before him. He was the first person who said to me, like, oh, I know who you are. You were in this and you were in this and you were in this and this. I've been following you, and you have more to do. There's more you can do. More than you've showed any of these fools. And I don't know if you call them fools.

[Unknown]

Tony Scott, a fool, would not have.

[John C. Reilly]

Called Brian a palm all fool. But anyway, yeah, so that's another person that moved my career in this whole other way. Like, I'll be forever indebted to Paul professionally, but also just in so many ways, perfectly personally to our families are so Connected and everything.

[Unknown]

Shout out pta. What about Martin Scorsese? Marty. Good old Marty.

[John C. Reilly]

Martin Scorsese, another legend, you know, like, it's one of those like, Like Paul or like Terry Malik or, like, you know, so people like that when you're on their sets, you're like, well, this is the coolest place in the world to be, for sure. Here in Rome with Martin Scorsese making gangs in New York.

Five points.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah. So, yeah, I mean, him, people like Polanski, like, you just can't believe how good they are at the job, you know? Right. Yeah. Something that you're kind of guessing at how it all works. They're like Picasso with the pain, you know, Like, Marty can tell a story with just the composition of a shot, you know, let alone the script or the actors or whatever. Like, you know, it's another interesting thing that's similar between Paul Anderson and Martin Scorsese is they both love actors, and when they're watching you act, they sit right next to the camera and you can tell they're like, they're paying attention to every little thing that you do. And that seems like an obvious thing for a director. Right. But you'd be amazed how many sets where the director's thinking about so many other things. And as an actor, you feel like, is anyone watching this scene?

[Unknown]

Can I get some notes over here?

[John C. Reilly]

The whole point of us getting to this moment was the acting of these scenes anyway. Yeah. So you just feel really cherished by those guys.

What about actors? Like, we want to know who's the most fun actor to hang out with? Just to kick it.

To hang out with.

[Unknown]

Yeah, Chill, chill. Hang.

[John C. Reilly]

Oh, Will Ferrell is pretty fun. I mean, he's not, like, on all the time, like a comedian. He's just a really decent person and someone I still feel really close to. Like, Joaquin is a blast. Yeah. With. Yes. He has this, like, intense reputation and stuff, but once he trusts you and once you get to know him, he still can be pretty contrary at times. But, yeah, he's just one of those people. Like, I mean, I, I, I'll always feel like that guy is my brother. From the time that we spent together there on that movie, I saw some.

Somebody asked Will Ferrell, what's the line that gets like. People shouted him the most. What's the line that you get shouted at you the most?

I mean, it depends, but Boats and Hoes is.

[Unknown]

Oh, sure.

[John C. Reilly]

Popular.

[Unknown]

Sweaty from watching Cops. I feel like it might be up there.

[John C. Reilly]

Right.

Did we just become best friends?

Yeah. Oh, this one time I was in an airport with my. One of my sons when he was really little and he had not seen Step Brothers. And we're standing there, like, in the. In this shop, kind of looking at a kiosk. Like, the milk or something.

[Unknown]

For the cereal, obviously.

[John C. Reilly]

Yes. It was like, in the airport. Whatever. Hudson News.

Airport, milk.

All the milk and juice. I already go off on enough tangents. Don't distract me. So I'm standing there looking at with my little son, and this girl just silently sidles up next to me and goes, do you like guacamole? And I was so shocked. I'm like, what? What? Like, yes, I do. She's like, no, the movie. And I was like, what? And she's like, stepfathers. And I was like, oh, okay.

[Unknown]

Yeah, whatever.

[John C. Reilly]

Okay. And then my son was completely confused, like, dad, why did she ask you if you like guacamole? It's a long story. Someday when you're old enough.

[Unknown]

When you're old enough to watch a radar movie.

[John C. Reilly]

That is a strange one. When young kids come up to you about that movie. Like, I love that movie. When you're like, you're out of your mind. Like, you're 10 years old.

[Unknown]

Who raised you?

[John C. Reilly]

Chill.

Chill out. Go rob a train.

[Unknown]

Yeah. Do something normal, like commit a felony.

[John C. Reilly]

John, what's the most romantic thing anyone's ever done for you? Bring it back to romance real quick.

The Roman. Well, this is not going to sound very romantic, but it. It was when I realized that my wife must really love me, okay. Which is I got audited by the irs.

Okay.

At one point. And I thought I was having a nervous breakdown, and I didn't have any of these records and stuff. I was just kind of winging it, you know? Yeah. And I think what happened was I made much less money one year compared to the year before. So they came after me thinking I was hiding money or something.

[Unknown]

Irs.

[John C. Reilly]

And I remember just sitting there, like, writing fake video rental receipts and putting coffee stains on. On a. On a diary from three years before.

That I bought Aging the document.

Literally, like, fixing the documents, committing another felony. And I want to do it sitting there. And eventually, I just, like, started to shut down. Like, I was like, I can't do this. I can't do this. I can't do this. And she's like, I'll help you. I'll. I'll help you. And she sat down with me, and I was like, oh, my God. Like, number one, I would never do this for you. So the fact that you're doing it for me. This is like the most awful thing that I could ever, ever think of having to do. You're doing it for me. Like, that was very deeply romantic.

Commit tax.

And I got out of that with no change.

[Unknown]

Very much skated.

[John C. Reilly]

Once again, shout out Steve Martin's lawyer.

Yeah, that was actually my accountant.

Okay.

[Unknown]

Is above the law. You're above the law, brother.

[John C. Reilly]

And on the flip side, what's the most romantic thing you've ever done for your wife? No, you are Mr. Romantic.

Well, one time when she was sick on a vacation, I hired a mariachi band to stand outside the hotel window and play for her so she could experience that.

[Unknown]

How much was that?

[John C. Reilly]

I don't know. You'd have to ask her.

Okay.

I don't know. What?

I never, never helped her.

[Unknown]

What's the mariachi band run you? What is that? Like, what does that cost?

[John C. Reilly]

It's pesos.

When she was, she like, what the. I'm sick. I'm trying to sleep. Shut this mariachi band up.

She said, oh, she wanted to come with to the dinner. The dinner to her.

[Unknown]

Kind of like, beautiful.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah, I should think about that some more. What have I done?

You are Mr. Romantic.

[Unknown]

Yeah. It's in the name.

[John C. Reilly]

That's just an act, though in a way it is. And I, I said I'm joking, but in a way it is. It's not me. Like John c. Riley is Mr. Romantic as a show is. I really play this kind of mythical person and it gives me a lot of freedom on stage because then people are not going like, well, does John Riley think that. Or it's this character that doesn't know about the past. He's living in the moment, trying to figure out what's happening. Yeah, yeah. So the kind of distance from me is a, is a good thing.

Do you wish you could have that where you're just like completely cut off from, like, you're just, you're just. You just are.

If I was really? Yeah, I don't know. I just went to a friend's birthday who turned 100 years old.

[Unknown]

Holy shit. You got some old ass friends, bro.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah, and my friends son told me, you know, she's a lot happier these days because she doesn't remember anything.

[Unknown]

Oh, that's so sad.

[John C. Reilly]

Like all the traumas and things in her life that used to bother her, she doesn't think about it anymore, so she's a lot happier. And I was like, well, that's good for her, I guess. But there is something really sad about it too, in a way, the things you've endured and the hardships that you've had and the struggles that you had are like a gift in a way, because in a way they make you.

[Unknown]

Unique and who you are.

[John C. Reilly]

Straight up.

Little nicks in the table or. Yeah. Or the history of that table.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

Our last question for you, John, before we get you out of here. And we want to thank you for coming on to the only podcast that matters. Now that we spent an hour together, I think we're do.

We just haven't even really got into fashion. Really.

We want to know, do you have any constructive criticism that you would like to give us?

[Unknown]

Bring it on.

[John C. Reilly]

Tuck in your shirt. Okay.

[Unknown]

Respect.

[John C. Reilly]

Not right now, just in general.

[Unknown]

Okay.

[John C. Reilly]

I. I was, I went to Boys Catholic high school and one of the things, I used to have to wear a tie every day, Dress pants, dress shoes, a button shirt and everything. And if we went to a dance, they would always tell us, don't take your jacket off at the dance. You look like a schmuck. And they used to still remember that. And when you at a wedding or something, you see guys dancing, they start taking off their jackets, tie around their head. You look like, even if you're high, keep your jacket on, man. It's part of the look. Like, like, yeah. And I also think, like, I think people should make an effort, especially on airplanes, make an effort. You're actually not in your bedroom. I don't want to see your juicy sweats. I don't want to see your slippers. I don't want to see your pillow from home. You're in public. So, like, yeah, have some respect for the other people around you, you know, and for the people that work there. Like, yeah, don't take your shoes off. Or if you take your shoes off, keep your socks.

[Unknown]

Yeah, that's.

[John C. Reilly]

You ever see people go to the bathroom just in their socks?

[Unknown]

It's disgusting.

[John C. Reilly]

Like, that's still a bathroom.

That's a gnarly move.

[Unknown]

Put on a suit, light up a cigarette like they used to do in the old days and respect the flight order, the prawns.

[John C. Reilly]

But in a way, you know, like I say that, like, care about what you look like before you leave the house. It's not just like a criticism of people being too casual or something. It's. It's like a way to make the world more beautiful. If everyone cares about that more, then the whole world gets more beautiful. I don't know. And it's good for people's self esteem.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

Like, a lot of times I see people wearing some super baggy T shirt, like, whatever, and you're like, oh, you're just. You're afraid to show your body. You're hiding in that giant baggy T shirt. Like, isn't there a way to, like, celebrate yourself? Like, wear something that you do feel comfortable in that that does celebrate who you are. Like, like, it's. I'm on a big humanist mission here, guys. Everything that I do these days is about trying to create empathy and trying to create beauty and trying to create joy. Like, that's the only way out of the mess that we're in out there right now.

Well, you are certainly doing your part with the new album what's not to Love, which is out on June 13th. Mr.

Romantic, what's not so love?

Stream it. Buy the CD. What do you want? What do you want people to do Live? Live.

There's a beautiful vinyl third man pressing made.

[Unknown]

Gorgeous. Jack White.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah, gorgeous.

Final.

All right, John C. Reilly, thank you for coming on to the only podcast.

[Unknown]

You're a legend.

[John C. Reilly]

Thank you very much.

Jeff, take us out.

[E]

Marketing is hard, but I'll tell you a little secret. It doesn't have to be. Let me point something out. You're listening to a podcast right now, and it's great. You love the host. You seek it out and download it. You listen to it while driving, working out, cooking, even going to the bathroom. Podcasts are a pretty close companion. And this is a podcast ad. Did I get your attention? You can reach great listeners like yourself with podcast advertising from Libsyn Ads. Choose from hundreds of top podcasts offering host endorsements or run a pre produced ad like this one across thousands of shows. To reach your target audience in their favorite podcasts with Libsyn Ads, go to Libsyn ads.com that's L I B S Y N ads.com today.