05/07/2025
Jack White’s searing 2024 single “Archbishop Harold Holmes” has a new life—thanks to longtime friend, actor, and musician John C. Reilly, who stars in and co-conceived the video for the song. What started as a rainy-day obsession for Reilly driving through Los Angeles became a full-blown passion project. “I was like, This f #%*ing song is amazing,” he recalled.
Reilly and White first became friends decades ago after a backstage meeting at a White Stripes show—bonding over Midwestern roots, Catholic upbringings, and a shared love of music and absurdist humour. White told Reilly the story behind “Archbishop Harold Holmes”: it was inspired by a religious chain letter he found on a wall, which he then reshaped into a set of cryptic, fiery lyrics.
“I thought that was such a cool origin story,” Reilly said. So cool, in fact, that he campaigned hard to make a video. “I kept saying, ‘Jack, we should do a video. You should direct it.’” But it wasn’t until the song began charting at alternative radio, and director Gilbert Trejo came onboard, that White agreed.
Shot in one day at a Los Angeles church, the video stars Reilly as an unhinged preacher—part prophet, part patient—blasting metaphysical sermons to a congregation that may or may not be figments of his imagination. “It’s like a perfect fan fantasy,” said Reilly, who envisioned the character as someone deluded by his own electrical visions. “All these electric things he’s been imagining are really tied to his experiences with treatments in the hospital.”
The result? White was floored. “This is the first video I haven’t had notes on since Michel Gondry did some of our White Stripes videos,” he told Reilly—who, despite self-doubt about interpreting his friend’s work, now says he’d do anything for White. “I really believe in the quality he represents in music. And of course, he kicks major ass.”
Watch John C. Reilly channel divine lunacy in the official video for “Archbishop Harold Holmes” now.
Jack White’s searing 2024 single “Archbishop Harold Holmes” has a new life—thanks to longtime friend, actor, and musician John C. Reilly, who stars in and co-conceived the video for the song. What started as a rainy-day obsession for Reilly driving through Los Angeles became a full-blown pas...