Is John C. Reilly a leading man? Heck yes

Cary Grant was the quintessential leading man. He was handsome, suave, witty and gifted, and studios loved to have him headline their movies primarily because he put fans in the seats. In recent years, actors like Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Russell Crowe and others have occupied that throne.

But the entertainment business is always evolving, and the concept of the leading man has become more difficult to define. Surely there is a romantic element that usually accompanies the term, yet at its core is the ability to attract audiences.

So is John C. Reilly a leading man?

If he is, it’s about time. Reilly is one of acting’s intrepid foot soldiers who has performed heroically every time he steps before a camera. This week represents a breakthrough of sorts, as he headlines “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.”

Granted, the film — written by Judd Apatow and Jake Kasdan and directed by Kasdan — is a parody, a raucous takeoff on the seemingly never-ending slew of biopics such as “Walk The Line” or “Ray.” It’s hardly “An Affair To Remember” or “North By Northwest.”

Yet the landscape has changed, and so has the leading man in Hollywood. If you can open a movie and attract kudos for your work, you’re a leading man, no matter the subject matter. Philip Seymour Hoffman was a leading man in “Capote.” Will Ferrell has been a leading man in a number of goofball pictures. And now John C. Reilly, in a comedy with the hugely successful Apatow imprimatur, has the stage.

Reilly has distinguished himself in a wide range of roles through sheer talent and determination. To say that doors did not fly open for him because of his looks is not to denigrate him, but rather to point out that his everyman mug made it necessary to wow casting directors with his creative choices and his versatility.

Video   Reilly ready to ‘Walk Hard’ At the “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” premiere, John C. Reilly showed up in full character as the shocking and foul-mouthed Dewey Cox himself.  Access Hollywood

Reilly is one of those rare actors who can be placed in the background but will quickly gravitate to the front because of the power of his work. He has sparkled in supporting roles for directors as varied as Martin Scorsese, Robert Altman, Terrence Malick, Wolfgang Petersen and Paul Thomas Anderson. He is the kind of guy you’d like to have a beer and crack jokes with, yet he is one of the hottest actors in the business.

Here is a look at five of his finest roles. There are certainly more to mention, but these stand out. Someday, when John C. Reilly is being given a lifetime achievement award by somebody, they’ll be remiss if they don’t cull clips from these five films:

“Chicago”
In Rob Marshall’s 2002 adaptation of the long-running stage hit, Reilly plays Amos, a schlub of a husband to dazzling climber Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger). In many ways, it’s a thankless role. Reilly’s Amos is used and abused by a woman who has grander ambitions, and actors with larger egos might shy away from such a weak character. But Reilly imbues Amos with pathos, and although it’s not a showy turn, he stirs some empathy from audiences who might simply chuckle at such a sad sack. The film also starred Richard Gere, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Queen Latifah, so it was easy for Reilly to get lost amid the neon names. But he not only held his ground, he earned an Oscar nomination for best actor in a supporting role.

“Gangs of New York”
This wasn’t a major role for Reilly. But one could argue that any part in a Martin Scorsese film is a major role. Such is the case here as Reilly plays Happy Jack, a police officer on the beat in the ethnic cauldron that was the notorious Five Points section of 19^th century New York City. The picture was dominated by protagonist Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio) and antagonist Bill the Butcher (Daniel Day-Lewis), but Reilly shines as a good-guy bully of a cop who was aligned with Amsterdam’s father. Perhaps some of the credit should go to the casting people for assigning Reilly to such an ideal role. In a picture that Scorsese had been pondering for close to 30 years, with a sizeable budget and a wide canvas, Reilly’s performance packs an old-fashioned wallop. 

“Talladega Nights”
Reilly’s knack for handling broad comedy, which will be on display to a certain extent in the more satirical but still hilarious “Walk Hard,” was in full force here in a picture in which he plays second banana to comedy heavyweight Will Ferrell. The 2006 film, an irreverent look at the world of NASCAR drivers, features Reilly as Cal Naughton, Jr., the trusted sidekick of Ferrell’s Ricky Bobby. As fun goes, this must have been a blast for the actors. But the prospect of working alongside Ferrell in a Ferrell vehicle might have been daunting to some. Yet Reilly’s Cal is sweet, affable and just dopey enough to play along as Ferrell riffs, yet still rip off a hunk of scenery to chew on his own.

“The Perfect Storm”
In Petersen’s adaptation of the Sebastian Junger bestseller about the crew of a fishing boat that finds itself in an unmanageable crisis on the high seas, Reilly plays Murph, a regular beer-drinking buddy who makes his living as a commercial fisherman, but who longs for stability with his wife and son. The 2000 release, which also starred George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Diane Lane, received mixed reviews, and one of the more common complaints was that there was too much emphasis on the events and not enough insight into the characters. Yet of all the characters, Reilly’s stood out. It is a testament to his gifts that he was able to evoke sadness and longing, as well as conflict with another crew member while on the trip, in an otherwise underwritten role.

“The Good Girl”
Unlike the doting husband he played in “Chicago,” or the wistfully unfulfilled husband he portrayed in “The Perfect Storm,” Reilly here plays Phil, a benign presence to Jennifer Aniston’s lead character of Justine. He’s a house painter by trade, but he spends more time hanging out with his buddy, smoking pot and watching TV. He isn’t a bad guy, just an emotionally neglectful hubby, which creates the primary basis for Justine’s boredom and provides the impetus for Aniston to seek a better life, or at least a better lover. It’s a tricky part, but in the hands of director Miguel Arteta and screenwriter Mike White, Reilly creates a truthful, multi-dimensional thirtysomething guy-next-door with issues.

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