Dennis Quaid
Dennis Quaid
Dennis William Quaid is an American actor known for a wide variety of dramatic and comedic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the 1980s, his career rebounded in the 1990s after he overcame an addiction to drugs and an eating disorder. Some of his notable credits include Breaking Away, The Right Stuff, Wyatt Earp, The Rookie, The Day After Tomorrow, Traffic, Vantage Point, Footloose, Frequency, The Parent Trap, Yours, Mine & Ours and Soul Surfer. For his role in Far...
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth9 April 1954
CityHouston, TX
There's no way that I could do a 9 to 5 job. There's no way. I was not cut out for that. You come in and you work for three months on the one job. They say, 'Great,' you know, and you're on to the next one - and you never even got fired. It's wonderful.
Going to the golf course every day for work? That's a good job.
I could never hold a job for more than three months, which works out well because that's how long a movie shoots.
That's what is great about what I do, going from one job to the other.
I like acting and being a musician. It's like comparing apples and oranges. But I really like my day job. I've always played music since I was 12, and I guess I always will.
Before I was an actor, I was never able to hold a job for more than 3 months for some reason. It just wouldn't hold my interest, so there was some way that I wound up quitting or getting fired from it. But being an actor is perfect, because movies usually take about three months to shoot. Then it's over and they say, 'Hey, great job!'
I judge movies on how much fun I had while I was doing them. I had a great time on 'The Right Stuff.' Doing that was fantastic. And there was the year I did 'The Rookie' and 'Far From Heaven,' which was amazing because those two different roles were just so far apart.
I love to work. I actually enjoy it now more than I did when I was in my 20s. I don't know why, but I'm just grateful.
I'm lucky. I have a high metabolism, so I pretty much eat anything and everything.
I've had varying luck with comedy in the past, but I'd really like to give that another go. I don't know if I'd chase down a part, but if the right thing came along I could certainly see myself stepping into that zone.
I've been playing music since I was 12 and I like to play in a band. It takes the place of theatre for me, the live performance element.
I've been down to a 1 twice, and every time I get down there I start playing badly. I'm playing like a 13 right now. I have no idea why. It's all between the ears.
I've spent about a year of my life here between the four movies I've filmed. I can't imagine how devastated people must feel.
Your partner has to live with the best and the worst part of you, and they're affected by it.