The versatile John C. Reilly has been announced as the first honoree at the 19th annual Oscar Wilde Awards.
The event, organized by the US-Ireland Alliance, is set for Feb. 27 — in its traditional evening spot three days before the Oscars — at the historic Ebell theater in Los Angeles, its original home.
The casual bash celebrates the work of those from Ireland — and some who are not — who contribute to film, television and music. It also fosters artistic collaborations, from giving young actors and singers a profile in the U.S. to encouraging the shooting of films in Ireland.
The Chicago-born Reilly, 59, speaks often of his family’s strong ties to Ireland. A frequent visitor to the country, he served as the International Guest of Honor at Dublin’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities in 2022.
“It might just seem like a goof to just appear at a parade, but to me, it has deep meaning as an Irish American,” he said then, “and I know that my father who is somewhere watching right now couldn’t be more proud.”
Said US-Ireland Alliance president Trina Vargo in a statement: “When President Kennedy arrived in Ireland in June 1963, he noted ‘that Ireland’s sons and daughters are scattered throughout the world’ and 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.”
In 2025, Reilly will be seen as a doctor in a community ravaged by a deadly plague in the 1870s in A Prayer for the Dying, written and directed by the Norwegian-based Dara Van Dusen in an adaptation of Stewart O’Nan’s novel.
He’ll also play Old West legend Buffalo Bill in Testa O Croce, directed by Italian filmmakers Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis, and star alongside Elizabeth Banks in DreamQuil, a thriller about the consequences of artificial intelligence and automation on daily life.
For the past couple of years, Reilly has been emerging from a vaudeville trunk at L.A.’s Coronet theater to star as Mister Romantic in a delightful one-man musical and comedy stage show, and he’s taking it on the road next year.
Reilly’s résumé includes an Oscar-nominated turn in Chicago (2002), a stint as Jerry Buss on the 2022-23 HBO limited series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty and performances in Boogie Nights (1997), Magnolia (1999), Gangs of New York (2002), The Aviator (2004), A Prairie Home Companion (2006), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007), Step Brothers (2008), We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011), Stan & Ollie (2018) and The Sisters Brothers (2018).
The Oscar Wilde Awards were held at the Ebell from 2006-11 and in 2022. Bad Robot, the Santa Monica production company of J.J. Abrams and Katie McGrath, hosted from 2012-20 and the past two years.
Other honorees will be announced in the coming weeks. Northern Ireland Screen and Screen Ireland are among the sponsors.
Pierce Brosnan, Molly Shannon and VFX and animation specialist Richie Baneham were feted in 2024.
Honorees since the event’s start in 2006 also have included Norman Lear, Jim Sheridan, Eve Hewson, Catherine O’Hara, Hylda Queally, Glenn Close, Ruth Negga, Saoirse Ronan, Martin Short, Kenneth Branagh, Jessie Buckley, Carrie Fisher, Jamie Dornan, Brendan Gleeson, Colm Meaney, Van Morrison, Terry George, Michelle Williams, Neil Jordan and late THR writer-editor Steve Brennan.
