"I Didn’t Go Looking For Someone Younger’: Dennis Quaid On His New Love And New Roles

Dennis Quaid is tired of talking about the cocaine addiction that landed him in rehab in 1990 and stunted his Hollywood career after a promising start in 80s films The Right Stuff, The Big Easy and Great Balls of Fire. “It always winds up being the centrepiece of an article,” sighs the 65-year-old actor. “It’s not even the centrepiece of my life any more.”

Quaid’s recent engagement to 26-year-old PhD student Laura Savoie should put paid to that. It has been a while since The Parent Trap star commanded quite so many column inches. Not to mention multiple memes and a heated debate around age-gaps in relationships.

We are meeting at a Beverly Hills hotel to talk about his latest project for Netflix, and are joined on the sofa by his snoring miniature English bulldog, Peaches. I’m half expecting his forthcoming nuptials to be off limits – but far from it. “That was really a laugh,” he says, of the press attention he and his new fiance have been receiving. “I thought it was wonderful, actually.”

[Full piece on The Guardian website]

The Best Dennis Quaid Films

What are the best Dennis Quaid films?

Dennis William Quaid was born on April 9, 1954 in Houston, Texas to Juanita Bonniedale "Nita" Quaid (née Jordan), a real estate agent & William Rudy Quaid, an electrician. He grew up in the Houston suburban city of Bellaire. He was raised a Baptist, and studied drama, Mandarin Chinese, and dance while a student at Bellaire High School. He continued study at the University of Houston, but dropped out before completing his degree. He moved to Los Angeles to pursue a film career where his brother, Randy Quaid, had already began to build a successful career. However, Dennis initially had trouble finding film roles, but began to gain notice when he appeared in Breaking Away (1979) and earned strong reviews for his role in The Right Stuff (1983). Aside from acting, Quaid is also a musician, and plays with his band, "The Sharks". He holds a flying license and is a five handicap golfer.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Matt Dicker-update by Brian Daly

From Wikipedia:

Dennis William Quaid (born April 9, 1954)^[1] is an American actor known for a wide variety of dramatic and comedic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the 1980s, some of his notable credits include Breaking Away (1979), The Right Stuff (1983), The Big Easy (1986), Innerspace (1987), Great Balls of Fire! (1989), Dragonheart (1996), The Parent Trap (1998), Frequency (2000), Traffic (2000), The Rookie (2002), The Day After Tomorrow (2004), Vantage Point (2008), Footloose (2011), Soul Surfer (2011), and The Intruder (2019). For his role in Far from Heaven (2002), he won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor among other accolades. The Guardian named him one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination.^[2]

10 Great Movie Adaptations Of Stage Plays

Films that successfully transfer the drama of the theatre to the cinema without losing sight of their origins.

Check out the top 10 here. 

What To Watch: Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986)

Jumpin' Jack Flash proved to be an important moment in the careers of two women, setting star Whoopi Goldberg and director Penny Marshall on a course that would make both Hollywood legends.

The sight of Whoopi Goldberg dressed head to toe in thermals to blunt a particularly cold New York winter and, it is assumed, some dodgy plumbing, reminds me of growing up at home with a flaky boiler leaving us with a single working radiator. Just like Whoopi in Jumpin’ Jack Flash, I’d snuggle down in thick pyjamas under the duvet; a hot water bottle beneath my feet, a mountain of blankets piled on top.

It’s little wonder her domestic plight rang true with me; a familiar situation to hang an over-the-top adventure, where espionage, murder and red herring collide with eighties new-age technology and unconventional romance. It’s a potpourri of disparate cliches that, thankfully, never grow tiresome thanks to the comic energy of the film’s luminous star. 

Full review here.

What To Watch: Tremors (1990)

A film which manages to get the balance between horror and comedy spot on, Tremors is a terrific ensemble movie about subterranean monsters tormenting the inhabitants of Perfection, Nevada. Kevin Bacon leads the cast in one of the actor’s most endearing movies as down-on-his-luck handyman, Val McKee. With his best friend Earl Bassett (Fred Ward), the pair become the town’s saviours as the heroic duo lead the group’s survival against underground creatures who hunt by sound.

What To Watch: 25th Hour (2002)

The spectre of the fallen Twin Towers is a ubiquitous presence throughout Spike Lee’s poignant and powerful drama, 25th Hour. Indeed, we’re introduced to New York City at night, a wide shot showcasing the illuminated skyline, the Tribute in Light piercing the dark like Excalibur held aloft; a fixed, ethereal moment of defiance.

Adapted from his own novel by David Benioff, it was conceived prior to the 2001 terrorist attacks. However, Lee, preparing the film that year, made the wise decision to subtly integrate the destruction of that day into this absorbing story about one man’s final hours before a seven-year stretch in prison.

Read the full review at Top 10 Films. 

What To Watch: Clash Of The Titans (1981)

 

Much of the real cruelty in Clash of the Titans is, like the giant Kraken, concealed from plain sight. It lies behind a veneer made up of fantastical beasts, heroic adventure, and dark magic; visceral stimuli that impress the impressionable. It’s why the film remains such an exciting spectacle for young and old; a truly frightening piece of fantasy on one hand and a camp, cartoonish display of special-effects on the other. [Read full article at Top 10 Films]