Hard man walking: John C Reilly
More photos:Tuesday January 15 2008
"I love that people can't place me and they don't know my name," he maintains. "That's 'mission accomplished' in my world."
Ironically, this could be about to change, thanks to his film, 'Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story', in which he swaggers with aplomb as a country-rock legend. A parody of pop star biopics like 'Walk The Line', the Dewey Cox story attempts to skewer the genre in the manner of 'This Is Spinal Tap'.
With hairpiece and leather suit, John plays Dewey from the 1950s to the 1970s in this spoof from director Jake Kasdan, that lampoons all the craziness and ego that go into a rock star career.
"Every rock star wants to be an actor and every actor wants to be a rock star," says Reilly. As a sign read on set: 'The story of Dewey Cox is both a comedy and a tragedy. Please act accordingly'.
An accomplished vocalist -- witness his scene-stealing as Mr Cellophane in 'Chicago' -- John does his own singing and recorded more than 30 original tracks for the movie, by a range of songwriters.
Doing all the recording work before shooting began allowed him to step into the role quickly, says the 42-year-old.
"The cool thing about working on this movie was I wasn't nervous on the first day of shooting like I usually am. I felt like I'd been meditating on the character for four months while we were recording."
The timescale depicted allowed John to pick his influences widely. and indeed we see Dewey in every guise, from country music auteur a la Johnny Cash to Beatles-style Eastern mystic. "I have very eclectic music tastes myself," says John.
Getting the chance to blend music and acting was a dream come true for the 'Boogie Nights' star. "Just recording the album in the studio with the singers and musicians collected was a dream job."
The actor feels so comfortable in the swaggering boots of Dewey that he has been doing live promotion shows at LA's legendary Roxy nightclub. The move echoes excursions to promote 'Talledega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby' in which John and co-star Will Ferrell went out in character.
"Some people have come here to check Cox out," he told the playful Roxy crowd, "and some have come here to worship him."
Raised in Chicago the fifth of six children, Reilly grew up performing musicals. "There was a lot of music in my family so 'Walk Hard' made me feel like I'd been working my whole life for this moment," he remembers. And though the film is something of a spoof, the filmmakers took the songs seriously.
"You have to try your best to write good songs. Everyone behind the scenes on this really has a love for the musician's journey. We're not just taking the mickey."
In fact, John is quick to point out that they weren't aiming pot shots at the legendary stars. "We're not poking fun at great musicians like Johnny Cash and Ray Charles but at the people who made these movies. I guess we're just looking at the larger question of how we make people look mythic."
Next up he co-stars with Sean William Scott in the comedy 'The Promotion' and then he'll trade barbs with friend Will Ferrell in 'Step Brothers'. Yet this father-of-two hopes to continue his off-the-radar form of celebrity.
"It's not because I find fame difficult," he admits. "But I fear if you're too well known you lose your ability to surprise your audience and that's what I like my characters to do."
'Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story' opens this week
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