John C. Reilly Says ‘Mister Romantic’ Makes Him ‘Feel Free’ (Exclusive)

After nearly four decades in the entertainment industry, John C. Reilly knows exactly what he wants from his career today.

The iconic star of Step Brothers, Chicago, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and countless other critically-lauded projects stepped out on Wednesday, Sept. 10, to serve as host of the Americana Honors & Awards held at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, and chatted with PEOPLE about his latest passion project: Mister Romantic.

The vaudeville stage performance — which fans can catch on tour, or listen to in an album of the same name — is a masterclass in individual creative pursuit, with Reilly touting that working on the totality of the project has finally allowed him to “feel free” as an artist.

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“I grew up doing musicals as the first thing … then I did this movie, Chicago, and I played this character, Mister Cellophane, and I really loved to do it and made me realize like, ‘Oh, I love this kind of performance, this style of theatrical performance,’ ” the star explains.

Reilly continues, “I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if you got to go on tours, Mister Cellophane?’ And I was like, ‘He only has one song, so I’m gonna have to put some more thought into this.’ Then, I just started thinking of more and more music to do in that style. And it turns out they were all love songs that I was picking. And I realized he’s not Mister Cellophane in this case, he’s Mister Romantic. And that, personally, [was] why I started doing it. I mean, that was the kind of inspiration overall [as to] why I liked that type of performance.”

On top of that, Reilly adds that he felt “like I was stuck in a TV show for a long time on someone else’s schedule, saying someone else’s words.” As a result, he profoundly sought out an experience where he could “feel free and go out on stage, you know, like I did when I was a kid.”

The culmination of that will is Mister Romantic, a show that begins with Reilly quite literally emerging from a large box — and quickly proclaiming that he is unable to return to the same box unless he finds love by the end of the performance.

His ensuing quest sees Reilly effortlessly floating around the theater’s crowd in a blend of melancholy and optimism while screening prospective love interests in attendance. The riotous, yet thought-provoking concept of crowd inclusion is accompanied by a medley of original songs penned by the artist, as well as tasteful renditions of big band throwbacks like The Ink Spots, The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and Frank Sinatra’s 1940 hit “We Three (My Echo, My Shadow and Me).”

Ultimately, Reilly surmises Mister Romantic as “a meditation about love and loving other people.”

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“I was looking at the world just thinking like, ‘It’s a tough place out there right now. There’s a real lack of empathy and a lot of division, a lot of heartache. I wanna switch that.’ So I thought, ‘There’s a proper hierarchy … what can I do about that? How can I contribute?’ ”

The actor admits, “I’m not great with picket signs or making like, overt political statements, and I don’t think that stuff really moves the needle much with celebrities or well-known people anyway. So I just decided I can tell people I love them. I can dance and sing and make ’em laugh, you know? Maybe that’ll move the needle a little bit.”

In the multi-hyphenate creative’s eyes, “what it’s all about” is being able to play a role in formulating “unexpected connections with people,” with Mister Romantic as the current medium.

“When you see someone really, and you see them completely and you connect with them, it’s amazing the things that blossom out of people,” he adds.

Reilly is continuing to tour Mister Romantic through the end of 2025, with stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Livermore, Calif., London and Chicago. The album is available on all major streaming platforms.

Tickets for Mister Romantic are now on sale.