Arts and Culture

John C. Reilly to be honored with an Oscar Wilde Award

December 16, 2024. John C. Reilly has been announced as the first honoree for the US-Ireland Alliance’s 19th annual Oscar Wilde Awards.  The event will be held on 27 February 2025, at the Ebell of Los Angeles. 

For more than three decades, Reilly has remained one of the most beloved and versatile actors of his generation, effortlessly navigating the worlds of comedy, drama, and musical theater with a rare blend of skill and charm. 

Reilly collaborated with Paul Thomas Anderson on HARD EIGHT, BOOGIE NIGHTS, and MAGNOLIA, worked with Martin Scorsese on GANGS OF NEW YORK and THE AVIATOR, and joined Robert Altman for A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION. He showcased his comedic mastery with two blockbuster films with Adam McKay, STEP BROTHERS and TALLADEGA NIGHTS, while also blending his musical and comedic talents in WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY.  Other roles which led to international recognition include WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN (Lynne Ramsay), CARNAGE (Roman Polanski), THE LOBSTER (Yórgos Lánthimos), and THE SISTERS BROTHERS (Jacques Audiard). He recently reunited with Adam McKay starring in HBO Max's Winning Time, the limited series about the Los Angeles Lakers.

In 2025, Reilly will take on the role of a town doctor in A PRAYER FOR THE DYING, Dara Van Dusen’s adaptation of Stewart O’Nan’s novel set in the 1870s, which follows a community ravaged by a deadly plague. He will also portray the legendary Buffalo Bill in TESTA O CROCE, directed by Italian filmmakers Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis. Additionally, Reilly stars alongside Elizabeth Banks in DreamQuil, a cautionary tale about the consequences of artificial intelligence and automation infiltrating daily life. 

But perhaps the most personal project for Reilly is his one-man vaudeville show, Mister Romantic. Already receiving critical acclaim following a one-night show in New York City and two years of sold-out performances in Los Angeles, Reilly will take the show on the road, with additional dates to be announced soon.

The Chicago-born, Irish American has often spoken of his family’s strong ties to Ireland.  He has visited frequently, and in March 2022 was the International Guest of Honor at Dublin’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. US-Ireland Alliance president Trina Vargo said, “When President Kennedy arrived in Ireland in June 1963, he noted ‘that Ireland’s sons and daughters are scattered throughout the world’ and that that they have ‘kept a special place in their ancestral memories, of this green and misty island, so in a sense, all of them who visit Ireland come home.’  

That deep connection with Ireland so clearly applies to John C. Reilly, and we look forward to celebrating his impressive career.”

The Oscar Wilde Awards, a popular, casual event held on the Thursday before the Academy Awards, brings together people in film, television, and music.  The event has long played a role in bringing about artistic collaborations, from giving young actors and singers a profile in the US, to encouraging the shooting of films, like STAR WARS, in Ireland.

Richie Baneham, Molly Shannon, and Pierce Brosnan were honored at the 2024 Oscar Wilde Awards.  More honorees for 2025 will be announced in coming weeks.  Northern Ireland Screen and Screen Ireland are among the many sponsors that will be supporting the 2025 event.   Northern Ireland has been busy with many recent productions: Universal’s HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, which will be in cinemas in June, was filmed there, as was HBO/Warner’s A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS (a Game of Thrones prequel). While most of the FX series, Say Nothing, was filmed in England, many attached to the series are from Northern Ireland, including director, Michael Lennox, and actors Lola Pettigrew and Anthony Boyle.  Ireland recently saw the filming of the second season of the Netflix series Wednesday, and several feature films including Jim Jarmusch’s, FATHER, MOTHER, SISTER, BROTHER; Richard Linklater’s BLUE MOON; and Ed Burns’ FINNEGAN’S FOURSOME.