- On Scrubs (2001), his character Dr. Cox's habit of referring to J.D. ( Zach Braff) by girls' names was put in the show after the writers noticed McGinley doing it to Braff. He claims to do this to all of his friends.
- His son with ex-wife Lauren Lambert, Max McGinley (born August 5, 1997), has Down's Syndrome. John took his TV role in Scrubs (2001) so he could stay close to home to be with him.
- Calls Oliver Stone his favorite director to work with, and has accordingly been cast in his films six times, more than any actor except Sean Stone, the director's son.
- On the special edition DVD of Office Space (1999), writer/director Mike Judge and the cast reveal that McGinley improvised much of his character's praise of Michael Bolton. Several outtakes are shown. They also said that McGinley was intimidating to work with, which contributed to the character he played.
- Describes Dr. Cox, his character on Scrubs (2001), as "a hard-ass with a heart of gold" in the tradition of Danny DeVito's Louie DiPalma on Taxi (1978) and Edward Asner's Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970). Many of his co-stars say the same of him, that while he may seem intimidating at first he is very talented and great to work with.
- Had to audition five times for his role in Scrubs (2001).
- He is a good friend of John Cusack.
- Is a good friend of NHL defense-man Chris Chelios and can often be seen on Scrubs (2001) wearing a Chelios hockey jersey or T-shirt of Chelios' chain of restaurants, "Cheli's Chili".
- Co-owned a restaurant with fellow Platoon (1986) star, Willem Dafoe called "Match", in New York City.
- Was a Syracuse undergraduate before transferring to NYU, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Masters of Fine Arts degree in 1984.
- His wife, Nichole Kessler, gave birth to their second child together, daughter Kate Aleena McGinley, on June 24, 2010.
- Irish-American.
- He was on a celebrity version of American Gladiators (1989).
- MFA in Acting - New York University, Tisch School of the Arts (1984).
- Raised in Millburn, NJ, and attended Millburn Senior High School, the alma mater of The Princess Diaries (2001) star Anne Hathaway. Millburn is also adjacent to the town of Maplewood, where Scrubs (2001) co-star Zach Braff was raised.
- Understudied John Turturro in the off-Broadway play "Danny and The Deep Blue Sea" early in his career.
- Lives in a four-bedroom beachside home in Malibu, California.
- Became engaged to yoga teacher, Nichole Kessler, on August 19, 2006.
- Daughter, Billie Grace McGinley, born 2 February 2008, weighing 8 lbs and 21 inches long.
- He is of Celtic ancestry.
- Was listed as a potential nominee on the 2008 Razzie Award nominating ballot. He was suggested in the Worst Supporting Actor category for his performances in the films Are We Done Yet? (2007) and Wild Hogs (2007), he failed to receive a nomination however.
- Has worked with both leads of "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994): With Morgan Freeman in "Se7en" (1995) and with Tim Robbins in "Nothing to Lose" (1997).
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