I end up improvising in almost everything to some degree, 'cause it's often necessary on movies. The script is one thing, and it's this kind of theory of what you're going to do, and then you get there on the day and you realize, "Oh, the script is not appropriate to this room, the door's over here."
John C. ReillyThe thing I tried to remember when I was younger was 'Do something that's at least as good, if not better, than the last thing you did.' So I started with Brian De Palma and Sean Penn. I had a pretty high bar to start with.
John C. ReillyI like how pure the expression is in music. You can go straight to the heart of an audience rather than through their brain.
John C. ReillyWhen you're dealing with younger people, if you start acting like the leader or the expert or the elder statesman, 'well, let me tell you how this is...,' that's a great way to alienate young people and make them hate you.
John C. ReillyIt's true that the skills required to be a conman are the same as those required for being an actor. Though those skills are in the service of something a bit more noble with acting, I hope.
John C. ReillyA lot of times, good improv is when both people, or however many people are in the scene, really have no idea what the next thing you're going to say is.
John C. ReillyI mean I was very shy but I was also very extroverted because I was doing plays. I'd been doing plays since I was a little kid. But, I did feel like an outsider because I went to like a 'college-prep' kind of high school that had a really big football team and was known for its program so I was like this weird boy that did plays.
John C. Reilly