Handsome, well-built and able to communicate
a rangy sort of charm in front of the camera, Dennis Quaid possesses many
star qualities. Despite attaining heartthrob status for his work in such
films as The Big Easy, however, Quaid has had a difficult time maintaining
this status, thanks in part to work in a number of films that have failed
to fully exploit his talent.
The son of an electrician and younger brother of
actor Randy Quaid, Dennis was born in Houston, Texas on April 9, 1954.
He began acting in high school, and in college he enrolled in a drama
program. He dropped out at the age of 20 to follow his brother to Hollywood
and spent the next year mired in rejection and relative unemployment.
He got his first break in 1977 when he was cast in minor roles in I Never
Promised You a Rose Garden and 9/30/55, but it was not until 1979, when
he starred in the seminal coming-of-age drama Breaking Away, that Quaid
gained attention. It was his role as astronaut Gordo Cooper in The Right
Stuff four years later that finally gave the actor his Hollywood breakthrough.
He subsequently went on to appear in a number of films of widely varying
quality. 1987 proved to be a particularly good year for Quaid, as he did
acclaimed work in The Big Easy and Suspect. That same year, he also starred
in the comedy Innerspace; that experience proved to be an auspicious one,
as it provided him with an introduction to co-star Meg Ryan, whom he would
marry in 1991. The two also starred together in the 1988 mystery D.O.A.
and in the crime drama Flesh and Bone in 1993.
Other notable roles for Quaid included that of wild man Jerry Lee Lewis
in Great Balls of Fire (1989), a 1930s union organizer in Come See the
Paradise (1990), and Meryl Streep's love interest in Postcards From the
Edge (1990). During a large part of the '90s, Quaid starred in a string
of disappointing films, including the disastrous Wyatt Earp (1994) and
the failed medieval fantasy Dragonheart (1996). He made something of a
comeback in 1998, appearing in the ensemble film Playing By Heart and
the successful remake of The Parent Trap, in which he starred opposite
Natasha Richardson. The following year, he had a starring role as a Miami
football team's legendary quarterback in Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday,
and then starred in the supernatural thriller Frequency (2000) as a dead
man who is able to communicate with his son (James Caviezel) over ham
radio. Though both films proved moderately successful, it was two-years-later
that Quaid would truly return to the good graces of critics with his striking
turn in director Todd Haynes' Far From Heaven. As a closeted homosexual
husband living a typical suburban dream in 1950s era Connecticut, Quaid's
sensitive performance proved integral to convincingly recreating the tone
of a Douglas Sirk era /melodrama. ~ Rebecca Flint, All Movie Guide
Filmography
Tomorrow (2004) .... Professor Adrian
Hall
Alamo, The (2004) .... General Sam Houston
Devil's Throat, The (2003)
Making of 'Far From Heaven', The (2002) (TV) .... Himself
Far from Heaven (2002) .... Frank Whitaker
Jaws: The E! True Hollywood Story (2002) (TV) (archive footage) .... Himself
(Jaws 3-D)
Rookie, The (2002) .... Jimmy Morris
Dinner with Friends (2001) (TV) .... Gabe
Traffic (2000) .... Arnie Metzger
... aka Traffic - Die Macht des Kartells (2001) (Germany)
Inside Traffic: The Making of 'Traffic' (2000) (TV) .... Himself
Science & Technology Behind 'Frequency', The (2000) (V) .... Himself
Frequency (2000) .... Frank Sullivan
Any Given Sunday (1999) .... Jack 'Cap' Rooney
Panama Canal: The Eighth Wonder of the World (1998) (TV) (voice) ....
Narrator
Playing by Heart (1998) .... Hugh
... aka Intermedia (1998) (Canada: English title)
Parent Trap, The (1998) .... Nicholas Parker
... aka Disney's The Parent Trap (1998) (USA: complete title)
Everything That Rises (1998) (TV) .... Jim Clay
Savior (1998) .... Joshua Rose/Guy
Switchback (1997) .... Frank LaCrosse
Gang Related (1997) .... William
Dragonheart (1996) .... Bowen
Something to Talk About (1995) .... Eddie
... aka Grace Under Pressure (1995)
Century of Cinema, A (1994) .... Himself
Kidnapped (1994)
Wyatt Earp (1994) .... Doc Holliday
Flesh and Bone (1993) .... Arlis Sweeney
Undercover Blues (1993) .... Jefferson 'Jeff' Blue
Wilder Napalm (1993) .... Wallace Foudroyant/Biff the Clown
Come See the Paradise (1990) .... Jack McGurn
Postcards from the Edge (1990) .... Jack Faulkner
Great Balls of Fire! (1989) .... Jerry Lee Lewis
Everybody's All-American (1988) .... Gavin Grey
... aka When I Fall in Love (1988)
D.O.A. (1988) .... Dexter Cornell
Suspect (1987) .... Eddie Sanger
Innerspace (1987) .... Lieutenant Tuck Pendleton
Big Easy, The (1987) .... Remy McSwain
Enemy Mine (1985) .... Willis Davidge
Dreamscape (1984) .... Alex Gardner
Bill: On His Own (1983) (TV) .... Barry Morrow
Right Stuff, The (1983) .... Capt. Leroy Gordon Cooper aka 'Gordo', 'Hot
Dog', Mercury Astronaut
Jaws 3-D (1983) .... Mike Brody
... aka Jaws 3 (1983)
... aka Jaws III (1983)
Tough Enough (1983) .... Art Long
Johnny Belinda (1982) (TV) .... Kyle Hager
Bill (1981) (TV) .... Barry Morrow
Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia, The (1981) .... Travis Child
Caveman (1981) .... Lar
All Night Long (1981) .... Freddie Dupler
Gorp (1980) .... Mad Grossman
Long Riders, The (1980) .... Ed Miller
Breaking Away (1979) .... Mike
Amateur Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill (1979) (TV)
Our Winning Season (1978) .... Paul Fleishauer
Seniors, The (1978) .... Alan
... aka Senior, The (1978)
Are You in the House Alone? (1978) (TV) .... Phil Lawver
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977) .... Pitcher
9/30/55 (1977) .... Frank
... aka 24 Hours of the Rebel (1977)
Crazy Mama (1975) .... Bellhop
