It’s December 2002, and Oscar season is getting underway. On Dec. 9, Martin Scorsese’s Civil War period piece, “Gangs of New York,” premieres in New York. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz and Daniel Day-Lewis, with John C. Reilly in a supporting role.
A day later, Rob Marshall’s musical about fame and crime in the roaring 1920s, “Chicago,” premieres in Los Angeles. Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere headline, with John C. Reilly in a supporting role.
And five days after that, on Dec. 15, Stephen Daldry’s era-spanning film about the effect of the novel “Mrs. Dalloway” on three generations of women, “The Hours,” premieres in New York. It stars Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore, with (naturally) John C. Reilly in a supporting role.
Less than two months later, on Feb. 11, 2003, all three of those films were nominated for a best picture Academy Award. And so, the same actor who would go on to appear in “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” gave life to one of the most prestigious honors in Hollywood history: the “John. C Reilly Award,” figuratively bestowed on the actor who appears in the most best picture nominees in a single year, with a minimum of three required for consideration.1 (Actually, the “John C. Reilly Award” was coined by Griffin Newman — star of “The Tick” and co-host of the Blank Check Podcast — about six weeks ago. Alas technicalities.)