John C. Reilly

Summary

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Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson (Sometimes)

Guest: John C. Reilly

Episode released: June 3, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this warmly candid episode, Ted Danson welcomes actor, singer, and all-around performer John C. Reilly for a deep, wide-ranging conversation about finding meaning through art, the power of empathy, building a creative life, and decades in Hollywood. From Reilly’s musical alter-ego “Mr. Romantic” to funny and moving tales from his earliest acting gigs, this episode is rich in insight, humor, and friendship. Woody Harrelson is referenced, and the episode delivers a masterclass in how creative lives evolve and what makes human connection so vital—both on and off the stage.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of Performance and Empathy

• Opening Theme: Ted immediately dives into John C. Reilly’s recent musical/theatrical project “Mr. Romantic,” skipping “career highlight” talk, and focusing on how the show is designed as an act of love and empathy for audiences.

  • Ted reads a quote from John about the show’s purpose: “I looked at our weary world… tried to think of a way I could spread love and empathy. I decided the most fun way to do that was through performing and singing and telling people I loved them... it’s better to light one tiny candle than curse the darkness. Well, this is our little candle in the darkness.” (02:13)

• About 'Mr. Romantic' (04:37)

  • John describes his show as “an emotional magic act or a vaudeville show. I play this character who travels the world in a steamer trunk… when I come out I have to put on a show. I don’t have to go back in the box if I can find one person who will love me forever.”
  • The audience is constantly engaged—“Through the course of the show…it makes them feel safe. And we talk about love and kindness, and for 90 minutes… there is no past. There is no future. There’s just this, which to me is pure theater.” (06:27)

• John on the Superpower of Empathy (07:40)

  • “Given what’s going on in the world and how empathy has kind of become this uncool thing… I personally think it’s a superpower.”
  • He reflects on performing the show on difficult news days and insists on the value of holding “universal connection”—relevant especially after a long, successful career: “What’s going to make me feel like my life has meaning at this point?” (07:40–08:50)

2. Roots in Musical Theater

• Influence of Musical Theater (10:04)

  • John traces his creative foundation to musical theater, revealing that, after years away, his role as Mr. Cellophane in "Chicago" (movie) reignited his love for the genre: “You have to be pretty damn good. You have to have a pretty good skill set to pull this off… I realized I should keep doing this.” (10:04–11:46)

• Music as American Art (10:30)

  • “[Musical theater] is one of the only original American art forms. You know, jazz and American musical theater… everything else came from Europe or whatever.” (10:30)

3. Empathy and Humanism Over Politics

• Music as Universal Communication (12:13)

  • Ted and John agree on the non-political, “humanist” intention behind the show: “If your note is about hope and love and empathy and kindness, that is such a great note to be humming.” (12:13, Ted)
  • John: “I don’t want to alienate anyone… Anyone who has watched what I do knows how I might vote politically. I don’t have to tell them.” (12:16)

• On Celebrity and Advocacy

  • Both discuss the limited impact of celebrity endorsements in politics and the risk of alienating audiences (“If you got Bruce Springsteen and Beyonce, and you still can’t pull off the election… maybe endorsements don’t matter that much.” – John, 13:00).

4. Inclusivity and Connection in Live Performance

• No Audience “Plants” (14:39)

  • John affirms the real-ness of every interaction on stage, describing how he earns trust and connection from participants: “I have, like, a 99% success rate with people… It comes from really looking at them, being in the present moment and just noticing something about them that you like.” (14:39)

• About the Band (15:41)

  • John introduces his ensemble—musicians with pedigrees ranging from Punch Brothers to Fiona Apple’s band: “I surrounded myself with the very, very best I could find… These guys are such an important part of the show.” (15:52)

5. Personal Life and Long-Term Love

• Meeting his Wife, Alison (24:48–31:18)
  • John tells the charming story of how he met his wife on the set of his first movie (“Casualties of War”, in Thailand), the circuitous path of their early relationship, and how their friendship turned to lifelong love:
    • “We became friends first and then… eventually I did [convince her]. …I wrote her love letters and I dated people that looked like her... For the rest of your life? Yeah, for the rest of our lives.” (25:17–31:18)
  • They share a laugh about the realities (and weirdness) of children growing up, and the value of investing real time with kids, especially in their early years.

6. Chicago Roots & the Influence of Community

• Childhood Memories (33:25–37:59)
  • Growing up on the South Side of Chicago in a large Catholic family: “A neighborhood full of people with five, six, eight kids… I had 35 first cousins within a 10 block area.” (33:45)
  • The profound impact of strong women and mentors—especially teachers at the local girls' high school and the nuns who fostered his talent, self-worth, and feminism.

7. Breaking into Acting & Early Hollywood Stories

• Goodman Theater and the Big Break (38:09–43:01)

  • John talks about “stumbling into” the prestigious Goodman School at DePaul, stealthily shifting from business to theater during college. A memorable scene is described where his father discovers his major:
    • “It was like one of those moments where you have to define who you are even before you’re sure that’s who you are. And I said, ‘Dad, I’m going to be an actor.’” (41:14)
  • On his father’s cinematic influence—and the turning point when he tells John: “We have enough carpenters in this family. Stick with what you're doing.” (44:38)

• Working with Sean Penn; Hollywood Mentorship (45:15–47:07)

  • Early “aesthetic” guidance came from working repeatedly with Sean Penn: “I owe Sean so much… If he asked me to do anything, I would do it, but I kept my dignity… I just want to do a good job and earn my keep.” (46:43)

8. Filmmaking, Friendship, and Navigating Success

• Paul Thomas Anderson & Boogie Nights (49:24–58:42)

  • John’s close creative relationship with Paul Thomas Anderson is explored at length including the making of “Boogie Nights.”
    • “I was his wingman, I would do anything I could to help him because I saw his talent from the very beginning...I was like his, he was my best friend and I was this...I just did everything I could to help him.” (50:52)
    • “Being in porn was thought of as taboo. It’s hard to even imagine now, you probably remember...” (51:55)
    • Memorable tale: John recounts nearly persuading Leonardo DiCaprio to take the role of Dirk Diggler instead of Titanic:
      • "Let me tell you something. That movie Titanic is about a boat that sinks. Everyone knows the boat sinks. No one's going to give a shit about who's on the boat." (52:42)
  • On playfulness and improvisation in “Boogie Nights”:
    • Ted: “I love when you say how much you press. Clearly a lie, you know—something like 300. Then you ask him what he presses… you hit the blender button. Can’t even hear, don’t even care.” (57:17)

• On Loyalty and Artistic Growth (58:42–60:40)

  • John describes telling Paul Anderson to only cast him if he’s right for the part: “Don’t cast me because I’m your friend. Cast me because I’m right for the part. If I’m not, it’s cool, man. I’m still here for you.” (59:15–59:55)

9. Auditioning, Humility, and the Creative Edge

• The value of auditioning and “eating humble pie” (61:07–63:07)
  • Both Ted and John agree on the usefulness of humility in acting:
    • Ted: “I think eating shit is nutritious for the soul.” (62:57)
    • John: “Humility. Especially acting. As soon as you start thinking, ‘I’m an expert,’ it gets so boring.” (63:07)
    • Both commiserate over pre-show nerves and the “first day of school” anxiety that never goes away.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I personally think [empathy] is a superpower. Given what's going on in the world... I've had to get up and [put on a show]… become someone who's not me, who's connected in a more universal way.”
  — John C. Reilly (07:40)
• “If your note is about hope and love and empathy and kindness, that is such a great note to be humming.”
  — Ted Danson (12:13)
• “Dad, I'm going to be an actor. I'm not going to be a businessman.”
  — John C. Reilly (41:22)
• Relaying advice on career decisions: “What you're known for is the last thing you did. So make sure whatever you do is as good or better than the last thing.”
  — Sean Penn (via John C. Reilly, 47:34)
• “I want you to only cast me in one of your movies if I’m right for the part. Don’t cast me because I’m your friend… If I’m not, it’s cool, man. I’m still here for you.”
  — John C. Reilly to Paul Thomas Anderson (59:15)
• “You are a leading man wearing, you know, the wardrobe of a character actor. You are all of these my favorite things. You can be—scare the shit out of me, or you can make me laugh—and sometimes just wondering which it's going to be is this amazing tension for an audience…”
  — Ted Danson (64:36)
• “Keep them guessing, right? Surprise is the whole thing, right?”
  — John C. Reilly (64:48)

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Important Timestamps

• 02:13 — John’s purpose in “Mr. Romantic;” love and empathy as performative acts.
• 04:37–07:39 — The premise & inventive structure of "Mr. Romantic."
• 07:40–08:50 — Empathy, the meaning of art, and performing on tough news days.
• 10:04 — Rediscovering musical theater and the origin of his musical passion.
• 12:13–13:49 — Disavowing art as divisive; on politics and celebrity.
• 14:39 — Connecting with live audiences and why it works.
• 24:48–31:18 — John’s love story: meeting his wife on set.
• 33:25–37:59 — Chicago childhood, big family, and strong female mentors.
• 41:14 — Telling his father “I’m going to be an actor.”
• 44:38 — “We have enough carpenters in this family.”
• 49:24–58:42 — The Paul Thomas Anderson/Boogie Nights years. DiCaprio/Titanic story.
• 59:15 — On only accepting the right roles with friends.
• 61:07–63:07 — Audition humility and first-day nerves.
• 64:36–65:40 — Ted praising John’s unique electricity as a performer; mutual admiration.

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Closing Note

This episode stands out for its sincerity, wisdom, and the clear affection and mutual respect between host and guest. John C. Reilly’s stories illuminate the heart of an artist whose life is devoted to connection—through music, theater, and humor, and through the vulnerable, sometimes chaotic journey of just being human.

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For detailed moments, see timestamp references above. Listen to the episode for the full warmth, laughter, and nuance.

Transcript

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[John C. Reilly]

Being in porn was thought of as taboo. You probably remember, but.

[Ted Danson]

Oh, my. Porn. Never mind. We're going to do this a little differently. Just the beginning part, because all of us. Well, at least Nick and I. I don't know if you were able to do it, but we're so taken by your music. What's not to love? The album that came out and Mary and I listened to it this morning and went nuts and turned to somebody, our assistant, and went, how can we see this stage performance? And you're coming to Ojai, and I'm so excited. So we will be there.

[John C. Reilly]

Is that place up there? Is that where you live?

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

Well, I don't know if you like to talk about that.

[Ted Danson]

I do. No, we do.

[John C. Reilly]

Another friend lives up there. Yeah. I'm excited. I love Ojai.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah, it's wonderful.

[John C. Reilly]

And you are really eating up the show. You can feel it in the audience like a sponge for love and empathy and.

[Ted Danson]

Well, let me read what you said. I looked at our weary world a few years ago and tried to think of a way I could spread love and empathy. I decided the most fun way to do that was through performing and. And singing and telling people I loved them. And then you end this with the lyrics all have something deeply true about them. Somebody once said, it's better to light one tiny candle than to curse the darkness. Well, this is our little candle in the darkness. Now we're going to listen you and I just for a second, because I just.

[John C. Reilly]

I'll be seeing you in all the old familiar places that this heart of mine embraces all day through. In that small cafe, the park across the way. The children's cafe. There it is.

[Ted Danson]

Oh, man. Oh, you're so good.

[John C. Reilly]

Oh, thank you very much.

[Ted Danson]

Really. Mary, who is writing music nowadays, and I'm. I think you may have known that. But anyway, yeah, she told me the

[John C. Reilly]

incredible story of her discovering she could play the piano.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah. Yeah. But she was God smacked by this and.

[John C. Reilly]

Oh, thank you.

[Ted Danson]

It's her genre.

[John C. Reilly]

You know that song. Every song that we do has some kind of story to how I found it or how it came into my life. And that song, of course, is a very famous song, and I knew it really well from the 1940s, but I saw Tom Waits perform at one time for this. You know who Hal Wilner was?

[Ted Danson]

No.

[John C. Reilly]

He was the music director of SNL for 30 years and a great producer and just this incredible musical, kind of Godfather. And there was this memorial for Hal. We lost him to Covid. And Tom sang that song. And I was sobbing.

[Ted Danson]

Wow.

[John C. Reilly]

Sobbing. You know, and I thought, I got to do that one. It became. I do it almost every show now because it's such a great closer.

[Ted Danson]

You know, we're going to keep talking for a second, but this. This is the vinyl that you can go out and buy and. All right, let's talk about. Because this is performance theater as well.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah, right.

[Ted Danson]

Talk about that.

[John C. Reilly]

Well, the show itself is like kind of this, like. I call it like an emotional magic act or like a vaudeville show.

[Ted Danson]

It's called Mr. Romantic.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah, it's called Mr. Romantic. And I play this character, Mr. Romantic, who travels the world in a steamer trunk that's kind of multi dimensional. And this band carries this steamer trunk around for thousands of years. And when the trunk opens, Mr. Romantic comes out and says, hello, I'm Mr. Romantic. I don't know what happened before at all. All I know is that I have to stay in that box. And when I come out of the box, I have to put on a show. And I don't have to go back into the box if I can find one person who will love me forever. And that's how every show begins. And so he's this kind of person with no past. He has no memories. It's not John Riley. You don't have to bring any of the baggage with you. You think about me or my films or anything else, and it puts everyone in the audience in the present moment, you know, I kind of stumbled into it. I learned all these songs over many years, and we rehearsed all the songs with the band. But the first time I started doing the show, I had no idea what I was gonna do between the songs. And at the last minute, I was like, oh, I've always wanted to. I've always wanted to come out of a steamer trunk. Why? I don't know. But, yeah, so I bought a steamer trunk. I measured myself so I could fit in it and everything. And then I thought, well, why would he be in a steamer trunk? Well, maybe that's where he lives. Well, why would he be coming out of the steamer trunk? You know? So all these things, it was like improv. One thing led to another, led to another, and all of a sudden, this arc of the show develops where I try to fall in love with people every night in the audience. And you'll see when you come see it. But when the show begins, the first couple of people I talk to are usually women. And there's this moment that comes in every show when I start to talk to a man in the audience, and I say, ted, when the show began, you might have been thinking, I'll only be speaking to women. But I have to tell you, Ted, I'm not gay or straight. I'm desperate. And then what happens is, instead of 50% of the room feeling like they're going to be maybe talked to, the whole room is united, that, oh, wow, none of us are off the hook. He might want to fall in love with me. He might talk to me. And it just does this wonderful thing. It unites people. And through the course of the show, it makes them feel safe. And we talk about love and kindness, and for 90 minutes or so, that's it. There is no past. There is no future. There's just this, which to me is pure theater. That's what theater is when it says alive as that and in the moment as that. So I kind of stumbled into this beautiful show that has really given my life meaning.

[Ted Danson]

Totally get that.

[John C. Reilly]

I know how you feel after a long career as an actor. Right. You start to like, well, I've made it, made the money. I've worked with people I really respect. I've done a lot, I've given a lot. I've played a lot of characters. What is it gonna make me feel like my life has meaning at this point? And given everything, like, when you read my statement there, given what's going on in the world and how empathy has kind of Become this uncool thing to some people, anyway. I personally think it's a superpower, given what's going on in the world. We've done the show on days when there have been school shootings and terrible developments in war, personal tragedies of my own. I've had to get up and do the show and become someone who's not. Not me, who's. Who's connected in a more universal way to everyone. So, yeah, it's been a pretty cool thing. We've been doing it for about four years now. We made this record. We're about to come out with another record of similar kind of music. Probably come out in the fall, I think. But anyway, I'm so glad you liked it. Oh, and, Ted, I'm a big fan of yours, of course. But I really came here because I

[Ted Danson]

love Mary, which, not only offense, but that makes you a really smart person who I now love even more.

[John C. Reilly]

I'm sure you've heard it before because she's something special.

[Ted Danson]

I go through life with people taking a second look at me. When they see that Mary's with me, they go, oh, well, okay, maybe I'll take another look. Yeah. And she sends so much love and was truly knocked out by this. I mean, I woke up going, okay. And I started going through your thing, you know, whatever this top thing is about the music. I'll look at that in a minute. And I was going through all your films that I love, and you as an actor, I love. And then I went back and turned on your album, and it was like, oh, my God. And I looked at the video, the music video. I so encourage everybody. Is it. Where is it? Is it online? Is it out there?

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah, it's everywhere. It's out there on YouTube.

[Ted Danson]

It is so good. It really sets down.

[John C. Reilly]

What'll I do? Yeah, what'll I do? Irving Berlin for that video. And that's one of the. That was the first song. Well, this. The show was also inspired by my work in Chicago, the musical. When I played Mr. Cellophane, I finished that and I thought I kind of rediscovered musical theater through that movie.

[Ted Danson]

From your youth?

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah, I have been doing it since I was 8 years old. That's where I learned to be an actor, was musical theater. You know, Guys and Dolls and King and I and all these, so. And then I went to acting school and I was like, well, serious actors like De Niro and Pacino don't do musicals. You know, I gotta get it serious now. And then I did that for a while. And then. Then that movie came along, and I realized, like, wait a minute. Not only do serious actors do musical theater, but you gotta be pretty damn good. You have to have a pretty good skill set to pull this off. Yeah, And I can do this. I've been doing it since I was a kid. So it made me realize, like, musical theater is one of the only original American art forms. You know, jazz and American musical theater. Everything else, opera, classical music, you name it, came from, you know, Europe or whatever. You know, the English brought over or whatever. But musical theater as it. As it exists now is kind of an American invention, and it's a beautiful art form. So I realized I should keep doing this. But there's so few musicals made. I'm still waiting for Guys and Dolls to be made. I think I've aged out of Nathan Detroit now. I've moved into nicely, nicely, hopefully. But hopefully someday someone will make that movie. But I thought, well, he only has two songs. He can't go on stage as Mr. Cellophane. And do you know, what are you gonna do? So I started collecting songs. And it took, like, 20 years of collecting songs. But that song, what'll I Do? Was the first one that I thought, oh, this is in the same kind of point of view as Mr. Cellophane. Someone who's, you know, this timeless clown who just wants to be seen, you know. Anyway, I love that kind of performance.

[Ted Danson]

And I think it's so important nowadays to, as I say all the time here, because she's a friend, not everyone could be Jane Fonda and jump up on the barricades.

[John C. Reilly]

Exactly.

[Ted Danson]

But you do want to be humming your note out in the world. You don't want to, you know, not have a voice out there. And if your note is about hope and love and empathy and kindness, that is such a great note to be humming.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah. And it's also not really political.

[Ted Danson]

No, it's.

[John C. Reilly]

It's human. I'm a humanist. You know what I mean? And whenever people ask, don't you want to come on the record as this kind of political statement? Or da, da, da, da. I'm like, well, I don't want to alienate anyone who doesn't have those political views. And anyone who really has watched what I do already knows how I might vote politically. I don't have to tell them. They already know. It's pretty obvious in most elections who's on the side of humans and who's on the side of business or whatever else.

[Ted Danson]

And if you want to deliver a political message, Hollywood Actors are probably the last place you would want to come if you want really, to have somebody on the other side of the aisle, listen.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah, exactly.

[Ted Danson]

Without chalking us off immediately.

[John C. Reilly]

Maybe it's a kind of defeating point of view, but I really do think it's true. If a celebrity endorsement could win you elected office, we wouldn't be in the situation we're in. If you got Bruce Springsteen and Beyonce on your side and you still can't pull off the election, well, maybe endorsements don't matter that much. And I'm not saying people should not speak their minds and not be responsible citizens and not take action politically and speak your mind whenever you want. That's. It's a free country. But I'm just saying, like, this idea that, like, oh, if we could only get, what, Taylor Swift, for Christ's sake, you know, she pretty much endorsed Kamala. And is there a bigger fan base in the world? You know, and it's just people don't go to entertainers for those kind of decisions, I don't think.

[Ted Danson]

But. But who. Who's the character. I'm so bad at musicals that you played in Chicago, who just. What was it? Just wanted to be seen as?

[John C. Reilly]

I would say, yeah, Amos Hart is the name of the character, but he's. Yeah. Called Mr. Cellophane in the song.

[Ted Danson]

But. But to be humming that note and that message of just wanting to be seen is way more universal than any political message you could get out there.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah. I have people in my family that have very different. Different political views than me. So I, like everyone in this world right now. We all know what it's like. So, okay, I gotta go to Thanksgiving dinner now. Like, how am I gonna. Am I gonna just take a stand and start wagging my finger? Or am I gonna see the human beings around me and try to connect? That's really what this show is. Every single time I talk to someone in the audience, it's just an opportunity to connect.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

You know, people ask me, like, is anyone ever, like, not cooperate? Does anyone ever, like, kind of mess up the show or whatever? Or are these people plants? Like, they're. None of them are plants. I can guarantee you that. And I have, like, a 99% success rate with people. And I think it comes from really looking at them being the present moment and just noticing something about them that you like. You know, if we all did that in our everyday life, maybe the world would be a little bit better. And you just see people, you know, they might stand up and, what is this Guy going to make fun of me? Is he going to. And then you say like, oh, look at your hair. I love your, your hair, Ted. Look how you combed it today. You know, like, thank you. And you just see the armor just melts off.

[Ted Danson]

Mine just did. But did I hear you say stand up, people? You asked them to stand up.

[John C. Reilly]

Oh, yeah, yeah. I moved a crawl all over the audience. You'll see. I go and I, I, I get all, I get right in it with people. Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

One other thing. Your band. You said the band. And is this a band you bring together whenever you do the show? Are they always with you or do you put together a new one or what?

[John C. Reilly]

Ridiculously talented guys.

[Ted Danson]

Unbelievable.

[John C. Reilly]

They're, they all have different bands and all their projects and yes, we come together for the shows, but they are the, I don't swap them out, you know. Although, since that record was made, we had to find a new bass player because our old bass player rediscovered his old band and had to like, head out onto the road. But yeah, so we got David Garza, who plays piano and guitar, who's sort of the band leader. He made a record with Fiona Apple, her last record. Incredible. You know, David Pilch now plays the bass with us. He's played with K D Lang and Joe Henry and just a million people. Gabe Witcher plays the violin. He was in the Punch Brothers. Charles de Castro has this incredible local band here called the California Feet Warmers and another brass band called the Blasting Company. So I surrounded myself with the very, very best I could find. And these are all people that I knew through one way or another, through movie projects or performing at Largo or. I just have this kind of large musical family here in la. And these guys are, you know, they're such an incredible part of the show too. You'll see. I'm so glad that is not my phone.

[Ted Danson]

You're actually on air with John C. Reilly.

[John C. Reilly]

Mary, did you call on purpose so you could be part of the show? You could have just come in, Mary.

[Ted Danson]

I know, I know. I wish I could see you. You're my, my long ago stepson.

[John C. Reilly]

I know. You were the best stepmom I ever had.

[Ted Danson]

We, I told him how much you loved, loved his record. Mr. Romantic. It's so. Oh, wow. We cannot wait to come see you. Yeah, it's gonna be so fun. That is, yeah, that's going to be amazing. Can I call you back? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And are you billing us for this appearance or is this a freebie? Yes, you have to. You guys have to pay me. All right. Okay. Okay. I love you. See you. Love you. Love to you, John.

[John C. Reilly]

Thank you, Mary. Love to you, too.

[Ted Danson]

Bye. Bye. I promise.

[John C. Reilly]

That's adorable. In case you're wondering if Ted and Mary's relationship is real, there you go. That was unscripted. And you said to your wife, can I call you back? That's so polite to say to your wife. I would have been like, I'm in the middle. I have to. I'll call you later. Like.

[Ted Danson]

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[John C. Reilly]

Wait, which one was it?

[Ted Danson]

The Beastie Boys. Do you remember?

[John C. Reilly]

Oh, that's right. Oh, the big one that Adam Y. Directed.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah. Make some noise.

[John C. Reilly]

Yes. Oh, my gosh. That was like a cast of thousands. That was like around the world in 80 days. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was.

[Ted Danson]

Literally, there was like catering trucks and everything. It was. It was really good, actually. I watched it.

[John C. Reilly]

We had a pee fight, meeting up Jack Black and Will Ferrell.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah, yeah, it was fun, those guys. The other thing you have coming out is Buffalo Bill.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah, Heads or Tails, it's called. Yeah, I played Buffalo Bill Cody in this crazy Italian spaghetti western. Yeah. Samuel Goldman is the distributor here. I think they did a really small release and then all these companies are just biding their time till they can get it on the streamers, I think.

[Ted Danson]

But yeah, good point.

[John C. Reilly]

Really proud of it. We had a great screening of it in New York.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah, yeah. Okay, take me back, take me back. We'll get to some of your movies here.

[John C. Reilly]

But we should talk about Woody at some point, too.

[Ted Danson]

Woody. What did you do with Woody again?

[John C. Reilly]

Well, I did the Thin Red Line and the Very Home Companion movie. And I think. Think one other.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

Anyway, I love Woody.

[Ted Danson]

Thin Red Line, where you were in north part of Australia.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

For months.

[John C. Reilly]

For like six months. Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

I'm not going to get into the whole story.

[John C. Reilly]

There's some wild stories from that one.

[Ted Danson]

Sean Penn and Woody.

[John C. Reilly]

Oh, yeah. Oh, I know. That whole story. The practical joke run that went awry. That's A separate podcast. I could take you through that for an hour and a half because I was there beat by beat. I went to every. I was present for every part of it.

[Ted Danson]

And both of them are a type personalities that will not go, oh, well played, and drop it. Oh, no, no. It escalates. Clearly escalates to the point where they didn't talk to each other for several years.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Anyway, different podcast.

[John C. Reilly]

No, neither one of those guys. I would never pick a fight with either one of those guys because they're like people that I knew in my old neighborhood in Chicago. Like, well, you might think you can beat them in a fight, and even if you did beat them in the first round, the fight is not over.

[Ted Danson]

And the weapons move from a pine cone to a rock between your eyes. Yeah. Terrible.

[John C. Reilly]

Incredible actors, both of them.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah, you can see that he's not the most dedicated podcaster sometimes.

[John C. Reilly]

Sometime. When was the last sometime?

[Ted Danson]

He was here with Harrison Ford because they were both here for the. You know, the screen actress.

[John C. Reilly]

He's an international man of mystery. I run into Woody all over the world.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

I think the last time I saw him was in Italy.

[Ted Danson]

You've been Married how long? 34 years on casualties of War, right?

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah, I met her. She used to be Sean's assistant and then became a development person. Yeah, we met on my first movie.

[Ted Danson]

Was that your first movie?

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah. I was 22 years old when I met my wife.

[Ted Danson]

Wow.

[John C. Reilly]

Incredible. Yeah. It took me a few years to, like, convince her that she should be mine forever, but I eventually did on the set.

[Ted Danson]

You were on location kind of meet?

[John C. Reilly]

We were in Thailand. We met in Thailand. Yeah. And how did that go? So I. So I. This is another very long story record. That movie was the first time I was on an airplane. The first time I was. I left the country. The first time I was in a movie, you know, like, the first time I was ever on camera. You know, like De Palma, who wrote Brian De Palma.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

And it's a long story how I. I was originally, like, a day player, and then I got bumped up to a cameo. Then I got bumped up to one of the leads of the movie, incredibly. But on the first day I got there in Phuket, Thailand, I just arrived. I didn't know anybody. I was just. I went to my room and put my bag down. I was like. It was like a Saturday or a Sunday, so there's no work or anything that day. And I was like. It was like. Like a hotel on a beach. And I was like, well, the Hell else am I gonna. I guess I'll go to the beach. Like, there's no one around. Like. So I walk down on the beach and I go out there and I sit down in the sand and I noticed there's another guy where I look and it's Michael J. Fox.

[Ted Danson]

Right?

[John C. Reilly]

It was the first surreal moment. I was like, oh, my God, it's. It's. I knew he's in the movie, but I was like, hi, I'm John. I bet he's like, hey, how you doing? Like, I scooched over in the sand a little bit, and now I'm drinking a beer with Michael J. Fox on the beach, like, after my first airplane ride. And this woman about 100ft down in a black one piece bathing suit walks across the sand and goes into the water. And I was like, who is that? And he's like, oh, that's Allison. She works for Sean. I was like, oh, duly noted. And then she came out of the water and she had been there for a little while already, and she knew all the kind of urchin kids that were around the beach all the time. There were all these kind of local kids, and she knew them all. She knew their names. And that's when we first kind of connected. She was introducing me to these kids and I was like, this is a special one. And I was right. I don't know what it was like the first time you met Mary, but. Yeah, right. You're just like, if I'm smart, I'm gonna follow up on this. So. Yeah, that was. That was the first

[Ted Danson]

move.

[John C. Reilly]

We became friends first.

[Ted Danson]

Good first move. Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

And I don't. It's not like I knew. I just knew, like, wow, I'm fascinated with this person. We became friends first and then. Well, there's all these things that involve the movie, like getting recast and stuff. Eventually, when I was recast into that cameo part, they were like, well, listen, that part doesn't shoot for another four, three months or something, so go back home and we'll bring you back when it's time for you to shoot. And I. Okay. And I thought, well, I'm all this way. Like, maybe I should stop in la, where I've also never been. And Allison's like, you should visit me when I'm there. And, you know, because she had already gone back, you know, she was just there setting things up for Sean. And I went back and we hung out. She took me all these incredible, exciting places in la, like underground clubs and all this stuff. And I was like, this girl is the coolest person I've ever met. She had amazing taste in music. She turned me on to Etta James and really cool David Bowie stuff that I didn't know. Anyway, and she. She had a boyfriend at the time, and it looked like it was maybe ending, but then they got back together and I was like, oh, no. So then I went off on my way. I finished the movie, I got cast in another part of the movie and went on, did more movies and stayed in touch with her. And I just kind of tried to wait out this relationship, and eventually I did. Yeah. And I wrote her love letters and I dated people that looked like her because I thought, oh, wow. Actually, the final moment came where I was like. I was doing a movie in Santa Cruz and I realized, like, okay, she's back with this guy and it's not going to work out for you. So are you an honest person? Do you really love this person?

[Ted Danson]

This is

[John C. Reilly]

saying this to myself. And I thought, listen, if you really love this person, you should. You should stay friends with them. Anyway, and so I called her up on the phone and I was like, listen, I got this huge house up here in Santa Cruz on the beach. I had all these kind of real estate moves I would make before Airbnb. I would, like, take the money they gave me from the Ramada Inn and, like, rent a house that was for sale for, like. And then I'd make money on. Anyway, so I had this big house on the beach. I was like, you should come up with her then. Boyfriend. Just come up, the two of you hang out. Let's be friends, you know? And she's like, okay, yeah, maybe. And I couldn't quite tell how she was feeling about everything, you know? And then. And then she asked another friend, a mutual friend of ours, will you come with me? I can't bring my boyfriend up there. You have to come with me. And our mutual friend, this girl was like, I'm not going to Santa Cruz with you to hang out with John Riley. You have to go. You have to go. And then after I made that phone call, another friend of mine in LA called me and said, hey, guess what I just heard. They broke up. And this is after the phone call when I said, you guys should just come up. I want to be your friend. And so I called her back after I got that call, I was like. And they got her answering machine, and I was like, hey, so, yeah, you should definitely come up. You know, I'm here, and it's a beautiful place. And anyway, she did come up and we were together. For the rest of your life? Yeah, for the rest of our lives. Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Wow.

[John C. Reilly]

That was 30.

[Ted Danson]

That's a great love story.

[John C. Reilly]

Seven years ago.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah. Very cool. And you have kids?

[John C. Reilly]

I have two sons. Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

How old?

[John C. Reilly]

They're 24 and 27 now.

[Ted Danson]

Isn't that just weird?

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah, it is.

[Ted Danson]

Ours are in their 40s.

[John C. Reilly]

Wow.

[Ted Danson]

You know, so that's weird. You know, we're going to our. We have a 14 year old, soon to be driving, you know, grand grandchild and we have five grandkids. Anyway, it's wonderful.

[John C. Reilly]

Life's incredible. Yeah. Kids are something. If you invest early and you invest with your time and your energy and your career, it really pays big dividends, man. You know, like those two guys, they never go away. They're the best company.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

You know what I mean?

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

And I always think, like with people, I hear people and you know, there's a million different kinds of kids, million different kinds of parents. But whenever I hear people like, ah, my kid did this and they're driving me crazy. And as teenagers, I thought like, well, how. How much time did you spend when pre 6 years old, you know, like. And that sometimes you realize, like, well, people think they can catch up later, but I think it's an important thing to say to people like, hey, listen, I know everyone says it goes so fast and blah, blah, blah, blah, but it really does.

[Ted Danson]

Cliches.

[John C. Reilly]

Way faster than you can even imagine. And those years that seem like eternity when you're changing diapers and driving people to school and doing all that, seems like, this is it, I'm a sentence for life to this life of parenting, you know, like the hard parts of it, you know, and then it's over.

[Ted Danson]

There is a period where they think you're idiots.

[John C. Reilly]

They live somewhere else, they think that you're idiots.

[Ted Danson]

And it's a little hard to. But if you just kind of skate over that, they do come back and they include us with their friends, which is such a gift. By and large. I'm sure not all of them, but by and large. Because we get to hang out with young people.

[John C. Reilly]

Exactly.

[Ted Danson]

Which is really cool. When you're in your 70s, you don't

[John C. Reilly]

have to suck their blood to get their life. You can just be near them. Right.

[Ted Danson]

It's tempting. So go back to you. You start in Chicago.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah. I was born and raised on the Catholic side of Chicago. Yep.

[Ted Danson]

What is south side of Chicago look like in the. What, seven is the 70s?

[John C. Reilly]

Or I was born in 65. Yeah, so, yeah, 60s into the 70s, it was. It was a tough place to live, actually.

[Ted Danson]

Are you going out every day and being able to play on your own on the street with kids?

[John C. Reilly]

Completely. A neighborhood full of people with five, six, eight kids. It was just like mayhem on the streets. And I would. I would leave the house like 8 o' clock in the morning in the summertime, I mean. Yeah, eight in the morning. I wouldn't come home until curfew. Well, it used to be a curfew for young people in Chicago when I was growing up. So if the cops caught you walking around after 10:30 at night, they would pick you up and take you home. But anyway. Yeah, so I'd be gone from 8 in the morning till curfew. And I had 35 first cousins within a 10 block area of where I lived. So I could leave in the morning and go for breakfast at Grandma's and get some lunch at Aunt Lillian's and then stop by when so and so was having dinner and then. Yeah, you know.

[Ted Danson]

And the family would know where you were because you just dropped by if they wanted to.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah, but I could with our six kids in my family. So it was a lot to keep track of. I don't know, you know, I don't know if you know anyone in your life, in your family that had big families. I. I don't understand how my parents did it. Yeah. Like, because just the two kids took everything, every amount of care and attention and focus. You know how to do that for six, eight kids? Yeah, it's a whole other thing. I think what ends up happening is the fam. The kids start raising themselves, you know, I know people that come from families of 13, and I was like, what was it like with your mom? And she. She's like, my older sister was my mom, you know, my mom was so tired and busy, you know.

[Ted Danson]

H. Where were you in the order of kids?

[John C. Reilly]

I was fifth of six.

[Ted Danson]

So you. Your oldest sibling is how old now?

[John C. Reilly]

So my eldest sister passed away, but the spread between us goes about two years.

[Ted Danson]

So it's 10 years ahead of you, the oldest.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah, something like that.

[Ted Danson]

And everyone go off and do what they wanted to do in life? Kind of.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah. Although no one's in show business or anything like that.

[Ted Danson]

How did that happen for you?

[John C. Reilly]

It was just a miracle that happened for me. I kept doing plays when I was a kid doing musicals.

[Ted Danson]

Where was the. In your high school?

[John C. Reilly]

Even in grammar school. I would do it at the parks, you know, Chicago Park District. Had drama class as I used to call it. And you'd go there and take improv classes or do play musicals and all these incredible mentors from a very young age who worked at the park. And then when I got into high school, then I started doing not only musicals at my high school, Brother Rice on the south side, which is a Christian Brothers boys Catholic high school. I would do plays at the girls Catholic high schools, too, because I realized, like, oh, wow, they need guys. Like, you know, I go over there like, I'm in a much smaller pool of talent.

[Ted Danson]

How often can they do little women? They need some guy.

[John C. Reilly]

And, you know, those are some of the most important mentors of my life. And I've talked about it before publicly, but there was a school called Mother McAuley that was run by nuns. And it was all. It was like a liberal arts high school. They had a. A thousand seat auditorium. They had a music program and a, you know, classical instrument program, singing and all this stuff. And all these women that work, they're all women that worked there. They were like my mentors. They taught me how to find my voice. They taught me how to what feminism was. You know, my. My main teacher was this woman, Donna Martin at McCauley. She was the one who directed the plays when I was there. And Donna Martin, we call her Miss, which on the south side of Chicago was like, whoa, she's not Miss or misses She's Miss. And later I found out she's in a relationship with a woman, and she's been, you know, she's, you know, she's a gay woman, you know, but she couldn't say that at the time, you know, but so I was taught and raised by these gay women who were feminists, you know, like. And not only them, but not only the lay people at that school, but the nuns, too. I don't know if that they were gay, but they were strong women, you know, they were teaching girls how to be strong women. And I just, like, benefited from being there. Like, aren't you lucky?

[Ted Danson]

I mean, when you look back, it's like, oh, wow.

[John C. Reilly]

Because the choices in my neighborhood were, you know, that was a real blessing to meet those women.

[Ted Danson]

Very cool.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Then what?

[John C. Reilly]

Then I went to the DePaul. DePaul University, when I started there was called the Goodman School of Drama.

[Ted Danson]

With the Goodman Theater.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah, well, it began at the Goodman Theater. By the time I went there, I had moved to DePaul because the art Institute, where the Goodman Theater School was, no longer wanted to have it. So they moved it to DePaul. And now it's called the Theater School at DePaul University.

[Ted Danson]

University.

[John C. Reilly]

But it's like a conservatory program similar to Juilliard, where you're just there all day, every day. You start out working backstage and then doing kind of Intro to Performance, and then you join this casting pool. And, yeah, it was. I couldn't believe I stumbled into that one, too, because my dad was like, it's funny. I mean, I have so many stories, Ted. I could just talk.

[Ted Danson]

Give me one for hours.

[John C. Reilly]

But my dad told me, when I was in high school, listen, he knew I kind of wanted to be an actor before even I knew, because I was just. I just kept doing it. I. I was like. I kept thinking, I gotta get a job. I gotta get a job. Well, in the meantime, I'm gonna keep doing plays, you know? And my dad could. Could tell, like, that's what I was interested in. He said, listen, if you can get a B plus average by the time you graduate high school, you can go wherever you want. I'll pay for it. I'll figure it out. You can go to Juilliard if you want. You know?

[Ted Danson]

Wow.

[John C. Reilly]

And then there's no way in hell I was gonna get a B plus average in high school. I thought of high school as, like, my day job. I didn't care at all. To me, a C was the perfect grade. Yeah. You know, not embarrassing, but not a failure. Not. Not overachieving in striking distance. Yeah. Yeah. I was like, boom, right in the middle. I did it. And so my dad was like, okay, well, you didn't do it. My dad was a man of his word, and he's like, now you're going to go where I want you to go. You're going to go where one of my employees went, which is DePaul, to study business, and you're going to take over my company, a linen supply company in Chicago. And. And I thought, okay, well, yeah, I'll go to DePaul, Dad. And so I went there, and, you know, my parents were very hands off. I don't know what your parents were like, but my parents were like, go to school. It's over there.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

Like, they didn't sweat the kind of stuff that I sweat about my kids. What school are they doing? Okay. You know, my parents were just, go. You know, leave the house and go to school. So my dad said, go and figure it out at DePaul. Go apply to DePaul. And I went and took a tour, and I realized they have this theater school there, and I was like, oh, my God. And so I auditioned. You got to audition? They had to be asked back every year. It was a very rigorous program. And then my dad and I had the same name, except a different middle initial. And I knew, like, if he ever finds out the classes I'm actually taking here, he's going to be furious. So I deliberately, when I registered for school, didn't put my middle initial. I just put John Riley. So that whenever the mail came to the house, I could just open it and say, well, it says John Riley. I'm entitled to open it in case my dad. You know what I mean? And then one day, I didn't get home fast enough.

[Ted Danson]

Were you living at home?

[John C. Reilly]

I was living with my dad. Actually, I moved. My parents separated, and my dad had an apartment building that I. Or an apartment, and I lived in the basement, and I used to kind of catch the mail every time, you know, make sure, like so. And then after three years of school, midway through my third year of school, he beat me to the mail. And I walk in to his apartment, and he's standing there looking at these grades, and he's like, I see your grades from DePaul here. I see acting, theater, history, movement, voice and speech, makeup. There was even a makeup class. He's like, I don't see any business classes on here. And it was like one of those moments in your life where you have to define who you are even before you're sure that's who you are. And I said, dad, I'm going to be an actor. He's like. I was like, dad, I'm going to be an actor. I'm not going to be a businessman. I'm going to be an actor. And he was like, well, at least you got a average. They got great grades when I was studying acting. And he kind of like, all right. And my dad was someone who really loved my dad. His favorite movie was Casablanca, and he could tell you Sidney Greenstreet and Lionel Barrymore and Walter Houston and Humphrey Bogart. And he. He taught me who all. Who character actors were. He taught me what that term meant, and he educated me in movies. Like that guy. You see that guy? That guy. You know? So it was just immensely satisfying. When I got my first movie right after college, I. I first started working at Steppenwolf Theater a little bit, and then I got my first movie, and my dad was just. So, which one was Casualties of War? Yeah, the one we were talking about where I met Alex.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah. Wow.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah. So, yeah, he was really, really Proud of me and. But then I'll finish the story now. And then I finished that movie, and then I was unemployed again. I came back to Chicago like the conquering hero. Oh, my God, John. John's in a movie. You know, like, And. But I just felt like an unemployed person, you know? And I realized, like, man, this is hardcore. Like, the. The success and then the unemployment. Like, I don't know if I can take that, you know? And I really started to think, like, maybe I'm not cut out for that emotional roller coaster. And I went and visited my dad in Florida one time, and my dad was very patrician and would often, like, not even make eye contact with you unless he wanted you to hear something, you know? And I was walking up this staircase with him at his house in Florida, and I said, dad, I gotta say, I don't know if I can take the roller coaster of this. Of this kind of job. I think I'm gonna go back to carpentry for a little while because I

[Ted Danson]

was a great carpenter after, what, nine months or something of being out of work after casual.

[John C. Reilly]

A few months, you know.

[Ted Danson]

Oh, wow.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah. It was just right away, I was like, I do not like how this feels, you know, after being so celebrated. And then like, what are you doing now? What's your next thing? I had nothing know. And I said, dad, I think I want to go back to, you know, carpentry for a little while. And he stopped on the stairs, and he turned and looked right at me, and he said, we have enough carpenters in this family. Stick with what you're doing. And I was like, aye, aye.

[Ted Danson]

Wow.

[John C. Reilly]

And that was like. He was like, kid, you don't understand how lucky you are. You got to keep doing this. So thanks, dad. Good for him. Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah, good for him. Then what was the second one?

[John C. Reilly]

I did three movies in a row with Sean Penn, who took a real shine to me. And to this day, I owe Sean so much. I mean, I met my wife because of Sean, you know.

[Ted Danson]

Did you have to ask his permission, by the way?

[John C. Reilly]

No, I just kind of slid in there and like, whatever. I don't. Yeah. Be curious to see what he thought about all that, but. So the second movie I made was we're no Angels.

[Ted Danson]

Fantastic. De Niro with De Niro.

[John C. Reilly]

And Sean. Wonderful film. Yeah. Neil Jordan directed that one. And then Sean was like, what are you doing next? And I was like, I don't know. And he's like, you should do this next movie I'm doing, too. You should come. You Gotta audition, though. And it was State of Grace.

[Ted Danson]

I just watched a clip from that.

[John C. Reilly]

Oh, yeah, it's on Criterion right now. It hasn't been on the streamers at all. And now it's on Criterion.

[Ted Danson]

Fantastic movie.

[John C. Reilly]

So I did those first three together with Sean, and then I was kind of like, once I kind of attached my wagon to him a little bit. I was like, well, now I'm thought of as a quality person.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

Because I've been associated with Sean or whatever. That said, I realized early on, like, when I was working with Sean on the first movie, he kept himself very separate from the other actors because he was like, I'm the sergeant. I'm not supposed to be your buddy. So he kept himself separate from it. And I realized, like, someone like Sean, you're either his peer or you're his boy, you know? And I was like, I ain't nobody's boy. You know, like, that's. That's just not. That's not how I am, you know? And so I really. And I'm not his peer, so I kept a very professional distance. I would never hit him up for socializing or anything like that. I would just, like, show up. If he asked me to do anything, I would do it, but I would. I kind of kept. You know, I kept my kind of dignity or something. You know, I just.

[Ted Danson]

Really smart, though.

[John C. Reilly]

And. And I think Sean really appreciated that, too, you know, Like, I'm sure people are asking him for things all the time. And I was just like, I just want to do a good job, and I just want to earn my keep. And I had auditioned for all three of those movies I made with him. But. But.

[Ted Danson]

But being in those films did set you apart from other people. Like, oh, he's doing serious work with serious directors and actors.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Which is pretty cool.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah. And I realized then I. And I didn't. I didn't. It's not like I had this, like, I'm the. I'm one of the greats. I have to make sure I pick quality projects. I would have done anything out of. Out of college. In fact, I remember auditioning for that Chucky movie, Child's Play, to be one of the thugs or whatever. And I didn't get it. You know, I was heartbroken, you know? But I think now you think, like, wow, what if I had done Chucky?

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

Then what would that have led to? What have that led to? And then Sean actually might have even said it to me directly. He's like, listen, what you're known for is the last thing you did. So make sure whatever you do is as good or better than the last thing you did. And it takes patience, you know, and you have to say no a lot and you have to like believe in yourself. But I had a great mentor in Sean from the very beginning.

[Ted Danson]

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[Ted Danson]

When did Boogie Nights come about?

[John C. Reilly]

Boogie Nights was. That's the second movie I made with Paul Anderson. Actually I made his first movie, Hard 8 which he invited me to. This Sundance filmmakers workshop was like kind of a summer camp for wannabe filmmakers. And that's where Paul started and yeah, and then we became Thick as Thieves. Really, really close friends right away after that first movie. And then we, he. He wanted to make Boogie Nights before he made his first movie. Actually he grew up in the valley in Studio City and he knew the porn industry. You know, he saw this shadow world over there and was fascinated by it. And in fact, I think when he was like 16, he made this kind of half assed short film called Dirk Diggler with just people that he knew and Bob Ridgely is in it. You know Bob Ridgeley plays the producer in Boogie Nights. Yeah, yeah, he was in Blazing Saddles as the Executioner. Anyway, Bob Ridgely, one of the all time great comedians and yeah, character actors. Anyway, so yeah, Boogie Nights was this thing that had been percolating in Paul's mind for years and years and then finally like he wrote this incredible script and at the time we were trying to get that movie made because I was really like kind of his right hand man. For at least three movies we made, I was his wingman, you know, I would.

[Ted Danson]

What does that mean? What do you mean?

[John C. Reilly]

Like, you know, like his. I would, I would. I was ride or die with Paul. I would do anything I could to help him because I saw his talent from the very beginning. From the first time I read his first script, I thought, holy shit, wait in the world gets a load of this guy. Because just for his ability to tell a story in a script without putting a bunch of, you know, stage directions and stuff over explaining, you can just read the dialogue in Paul's movies and you know, what's going on between the characters, you know, I felt like, wow. So, yeah, so I was kind of like, we were thick as thieves. I was like his. He was my best friend and I was this. I just did everything I could to, to help him, you know. Anyway, at the time we were trying to get Boogie Nights put together, being in porn was thought of as taboo. It's hard to even imagine now, you probably remember, but.

[Ted Danson]

Oh, my porn, Nevermind.

[John C. Reilly]

And all these actors and their managers and their agents were like, no, no, no, no, no porn. No, no, no. And there's a penis in the movie. And there's all, you know, like everyone. No, no, no, no. And Paul just doggedly went after one after the other after the other. And yeah, Mark Wahlberg's manager told him, don't do it. You know, like. And, and I. Before Mark was asked to do the movie, Paul really wanted to. Leo DiCaprio to do it. And I had already done what's Eating Gilbert Graham with Mary and Leo. And I knew Leo, I knew. Met him when he was 17. And, and I was like, give me the assignment, Paul. I'll get this guy to do your movie. I know him since he's a kid, you know, like. And so I go and meet him and Leo had been offered Titanic and I, I sat down with him on Hillhurst there in Silver Lagoon. I was like, listen, Leo, let me tell you something. That movie Titanic is about a boat that sinks. Everyone knows the boat sinks. No one's gonna give a shit about who's on the boat.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah, this is about a penis that goes up.

[John C. Reilly]

And I was like, this guy, this director is gonna be one of the most talented film directors going forward, and you should not miss this opportunity. And he's like, well, I don't know. My agents are off. They're saying this is going to be a really big movie and I should do it. And I was like, I'm telling you, man. I'm telling you. I wouldn't give you a bum steer here. Like, it's about a boat that sinks, and so the rest is history, you know, Leo. And then. But then Leo regretted that decision for all, I think. I can't speak for him, but I think that all the success, the massive success that came with that movie was both a blessing and a curse, you know, like, it was just a lot for a young man. And I think he thought, like, what would my other path have been? And then finally it happened this past couple years with another battle or one battle after another.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah. So that was very satisfying for me that both Sean, who Paul had been chasing for years, too, to be in his movies. Both Sean and Leo are in that movie. It just. I. Yeah, it felt like finally he took my advice. It took 25 years or something.

[Ted Danson]

I had hysterics watching Sean. I thought that was the most brilliant, brilliant performance. I know.

[John C. Reilly]

He's so messed up at the end of that movie, you almost can't recognize it. But you know who it is because he's walking like this.

[Ted Danson]

Just spectacular. Yeah. Wow. So what. So what about getting the women's stars for that? That must have been hard for him.

[John C. Reilly]

I mean. For Boogie Nights.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah. Well, I think Paul loved Robert Altman, and I'm not sure when his friendship with Robert Altman began, but I think that was his in with Julianne, because Julianne had already worked with Bob and a lot of the other people, you know, once he got that movie set up with the main people. Oh. And he wanted Warren Beatty to be the Burt Reynolds part.

[Ted Danson]

Right.

[John C. Reilly]

And Warren just. Whatever. Just couldn't commit and whatever. And so. So Paul found Bird, which was brilliant. Yeah. Perfect.

[Ted Danson]

Absolutely.

[John C. Reilly]

In many ways, probably better than yes, in a. In a. Whatever. You can debate it. But so he. In. In a weird way, like, what do you know? To tell you the truth, the way that movie really got made was Mike DeLuca at Newline said to Bob Shea, you've got to make this movie. And I'm not sure if this is true. It's become kind of a legend now. But he said, I'm going to leave New Line unless you make this movie. And so Bob, she's this kid. Is it porn? All right, whatever. It wasn't very much money in the scheme of things for them. So he let it happen. And then Paul then was able to kind of pick. You know, nobody knew who Heather Graham was at the time. No one knew who Bill Macy was. Heather Graham So he assembled this kind of incredible collection of actors.

[Ted Danson]

You're spectacular in it.

[John C. Reilly]

Oh, thank you. I just watched it recently. They had a new 70 millimeter print of it, and I was like, boy, that character's a lot. Reed just does not shut up.

[Ted Danson]

But it's so much fun to see somebody who thinks he's way higher up the ladder than he really is. And he's so confident. He's a dream. It is such a wonderful place to be funny without having to try to be funny.

[John C. Reilly]

Well, Paul, he said it really tickled him. He's like, your relationship with Dirk begins like this. You're making margaritas, trying to vibe him. And the direction he gave me for that scene was like, dominate him. Dominate him. Everything that comes along, anything you talk about, try to one up him and dominate him. So it's like, what do you bench this kind of braggadocio? Who's this kid? The new kid. By the end of that day, we're in a hot tub together, and I say, you want to hear a poem I wrote? I literally fall in love with Dirk by the end of the day.

[Ted Danson]

I love when you say how much you press. Clearly a lie, you know, something like 300. Then you ask him what he presses. When he's answering, you hit the blender button. So it's like, can't even hear, don't even care.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah, that was a lot. A lot of fun. That was probably the funnest summer of my life. You know who.

[Ted Danson]

Who played the. Who was the guy who. You. You broke into the house? The drug dealer.

[John C. Reilly]

Oh, Alfred Molina.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah. He was spectacular.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah. Yeah. And that's all these people. I don't think Fred Molina at the time was. Would have been the first choice for a studio or something. But Paul loves movies so much. He remembered Alfred from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

[Ted Danson]

Oh, wow.

[John C. Reilly]

Throw me the whip. I'll give you the idol. You know, like the beginning of that movie, he was like, who's that guy? Who's that guy? I mean, that's how Paul found me. You know, he saw me in casualty. Who's that guy? Who's that guy? You know, and he would just, you know, he. He sees things in people. That's Paul's real gift. He can look at people. He can be in a room, and he can tell what everyone's feeling, what they're insecure about. Well, he might not say it, but he's a real savant for the way people are. He has emotional intelligence. It's really interesting. So when he sees actors that sparked to him. He was just like, that guy. He's on my team. You're on my team, you know?

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

And I thought, you know, for a while, I thought, well, this is. We have this company of actors, the 12 or 15 of us, like, we'll just make every Paul Anderson movie from now on. But there was a really important moment in my relationship with Paul. And I've talked about this before, pretty recently, publicly. But after, with three. We did these three movies together, and I said to him, I could tell, like, paul's growing, you know, After Magnolia, I'm like, look at this epic you made. You know, this. This is not the kid I met 5 years ago or whatever. Like, this. This guy's growing. And he. And I could just sense, like, he had all these loyalties to all these actors. And I thought, like, what if he. What if he doesn't want to work with those same actors again? You know, What. What if he just needs to expand in other ways? And I said to him, I said, paul, listen, these three movies you've given me are some of the most important things that will ever happen in my life. And that's true. And I said, but listen, I only ever want you to cast me in one of your movies if I'm right for the part. Don't cast me because I'm your friend. Cast me because I'm right for the part. And if I'm not, it's cool, man. I'm still here for you. I'm your friend, you know, and that and the Magnolia was the last movie I made. I have a little bit part in licorice Pizza, but. Yeah. And I think. I don't know. I'd be curious to ask Paul if he remembers that conversation or whether he thought it was important. But I think as a result of it, I kind of gave him license to just grow, you know, go find somebody else. Go find Daniel Day Lewis and whoever else. Like, grow your vision, you know? And he's offered me things to be truthful. It's not like he never cast me again. He asked me to do a couple things along the way. But I have this weird thing, like, if I don't think I can really score for you, I'll say no.

[Ted Danson]

That's not weird. That's smart.

[John C. Reilly]

Well. But if someone like Martin Scorsese asks you to do something and you think, I don't know if I could really score in this part, you now have to tell Martin Scorsese no, which is not a word he hears very often, you know, and same with Paul, as Paul was going along, I want you to do this. Like, I gotta tell you, man, I want, in a loving way, you to release me from this request. Because I don't think I'm gonna score it for you in this part.

[Ted Danson]

I don't like. Not when you get to a certain point in your career, whatever track you're on, and you don't have to. You're not expected to audition anymore. You're just offered stuff. I always think that's not a great idea.

[John C. Reilly]

I agree.

[Ted Danson]

When you audition, you get to figure out, oh, this may not be a good fit for me.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah, you know, or, you know, you could do.

[Ted Danson]

I like these.

[John C. Reilly]

They might say you're auditioning, they're auditioning you, but in your head, you're auditioning them.

[Ted Danson]

Somebody told me that early on, which made me. And it's not an arrogant move. It's a move that kind of neutralizes the energy in the room. So you don't come in needy. You come in. I want to play. Let's see how this goes. I want to see how it goes, too.

[John C. Reilly]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Kind of feel also.

[John C. Reilly]

I think it's also, like, good to show a director this is what you might get. Yeah, this is what I don't want. It's always a weird thing. And I feel bad for directors sometimes when. Because I've had most of my roles at this point, just offered to me, and I show up and they trust me. And then you think, like, man, I hope they're happy with what they're getting, because they had no idea. They didn't give them any indication that I would play the scene this way or that way, or I would interpret the character this way or that way. But, yeah, I do think it's important to at least kind of. Have you ever been in a meeting for a project where you come in thinking, like, this guy wants me to do this thing. Let's see if he's going there. And you get to the meeting, you're like, oh, yeah, he's not sure about me.

[Ted Danson]

Being humbled is always a good thing.

[John C. Reilly]

Or sometimes they think, I think he asked for this meeting, or she asked for this meeting with me. And you get to the meeting, you're like, oh, no, she thinks I asked for this meeting. Yeah. So that's. That's interesting. And then, I don't know. I think that keeps you honest.

[Ted Danson]

I think eating shit is nutritious for the soul.

[John C. Reilly]

That's disgusting.

[Ted Danson]

If you have to do that periodically, it's a good thing. Yeah.

[John C. Reilly]

You got to remember humility. I mean, especially acting. As soon as you start thinking like I'm an expert, it gets so boring. I am.

[Ted Danson]

I am the worst. I. I about to start something new, and I am. I can guarantee you I'll get some sort of ailment usually. No, my arthritis is really bad now, in Maro. I know, I know, sweetheart. It always is right before. No, but this is different. I am always just horrified.

[John C. Reilly]

I have arthritis too. I feel you, buddy.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah. And part. And mostly, though, this kind of psychosomatic. Psychosomatic, without doubt.

[John C. Reilly]

And my wife calls it the first day of school. Another first day of school. And it never gets. It never feels any different than the first day of school because you don't. Most of the time, you don't know anybody.

[Ted Danson]

And you're supposed to. I think if you're being truly creative, you start at zero each time. If you're building on what you did last time, you'll get what you did last time. But if you really are trying to be creative, you start back at I don't know. And I don't know is very vulnerable, you know, because you don't. And then it's, you know, scary. Anyway, I'll let you know about my arthritis. Hey, a couple of things I can't wait to. I. I do. You are one of my favorite actors. You are very. You're a leading man wearing, you know, the wardrobe of a character actor. You are all of these my favorite things. You can be scare the shit out of me or you can make me laugh and sometimes just wondering which it's going to be. Is this amazing tension for an audience to watch you perform. I love you.

[John C. Reilly]

Keep them guessing, right? Surprise. Is the whole thing, right?

[Ted Danson]

Yeah. I love your album. I can't wait to see you perform it in a couple of weeks or something, whatever it is.

[John C. Reilly]

First week of June.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah. Yeah. You really are spectacular. But Mary had the best time of her life, was shooting Stepbrothers. And I remember coming and just sitting around. I'm winding up here. But I do want to say that usually when you visit a spouse or a friend on a set, it's like, hey, I'm here, but I gotta go. If you're not in it, it's boring. They had sofas around the camera. You know, the video village where the director is watching, you know, and it would be full of people coming just to watch you all rehearse and shoot. It was just magnificent.

[John C. Reilly]

She's so game, Mary. She's just. I love to hear her laugh. Yeah, I'm sure you do too.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah, she's famous for what the fuck, she gets stopped on the street. Hey, I adore you. You're a brilliant actor.

[John C. Reilly]

I adore you too. Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

And so thanks so much.

[John C. Reilly]

You're one of the few very handsome men that I really respect.

[Ted Danson]

We will lead that, we will lead that.

[John C. Reilly]

We'll cut it your whole life, you know, good looking guys and good looking girls for that matter. A lot of times I get given the world on a platter in some ways, you know. But you always have been someone that resonates as an ethical, decent guy.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah, okay. I do.

[John C. Reilly]

Even though you're so annoyingly handsome.

[Ted Danson]

I accept all of the above. That's it for this week. Special thanks to Team Coco. If you've enjoyed this episode, please send it to a loved one rate and review on Apple Podcasts. If you're in a good mood, watch our full length video episodes on YouTube.com teamcoco see you next time. Where everybody knows your name. You've been listening to where everybody knows your name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson Sometimes. The show is produced by me, Nick Leow. Our executive producers are Adam Sachs, Jeff Ross and myself. Sarah Fedenrough is our supervising producer. Engineering and mixing by Joanna Samuel with support from Eduardo Perez, research by Alyssa Grohl, talent booking by Paula Davis and Gina Bautista. Our theme music is by Woody Harrelson, Antony Gend, Mary Steenbergen and John Osborne.

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[John C. Reilly]

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