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Dennis William Quaid (born April 9, 1954) is an American actor and gospel singer. He is known for his leading man roles in film and television. The Guardian named him one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination.Quaid is known for his starring roles in 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), The Rookie (2002), The Day After Tomorrow (2004), In Good Company (2004), Flight of the Phoenix (2004), Yours, Mine & Ours (2005), and Vantage Point (2008). He received a Golden Globe Award nomination for his role in Far from Heaven (2002). Quaid also acted in The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (1981), Jaws 3-D (1983), Come See the Paradise (1990), Any Given Sunday (1999), Traffic (2000), American Dreamz (2006), Footloose (2011), Playing for Keeps (2012), Truth (2015), Midway (2019), and Strange World (2022). He portrayed President Bill Clinton in the HBO film The Special Relationship (2010) for which he earned nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award. He also portrayed Deputy US Marshal Sherrill Lynn in the Paramount+ western series Lawmen: Bass Reeves (2023). Early life and education Dennis William Quaid was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Juanita Bonnie Dale "Nita" (née Jordan), a real estate agent, and William Rudy Quaid (1923–1987), an electrician. He has English, Irish, Scots-Irish, and Cajun (French) ancestry. Through his father, he is a first cousin, twice removed, of cowboy performer Gene Autry. Quaid attended Paul W. Horn Elementary School in Bellaire and Pershing Middle School in Houston. He studied Mandarin and dance at Bellaire High School in Bellaire, Texas, and later in college, at the University of Houston, under drama coach Cecil Pickett, who had previously taught at Bellaire High and whose daughter is actress Cindy Pickett. Quaid was raised in the Baptist faith. He is the younger brother of actor Randy Quaid. Career 1979–1982: Early roles Quaid dropped out of the University of Houston before graduating and moved to Hollywood to pursue an acting career. He made his film debut in an uncredited role in the action comedy film Crazy Mama (1975) starring Cloris Leachman. He then acted in the psychological drama I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977) and the drama September 30, 1955 (1977). He initially had trouble finding work but began to gain notice after appearing in the comedy Breaking Away (1979) and the musical drama The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (1981), During this time he appeared in numerous films such as the drama film Our Winning Season (1978), the comedy film The Seniors (1978), the romantic comedy All Night Long (1981), and the slapstick comedy Caveman (1981). He portrayed outlaw Ed Miller in the Walter Hill directed Western drama The Long Riders (1980). He appeared as an extra at a graduation ceremony in the Ivan Reitman directed comedy Stripes (1981) starring Bill Murray. 1983–2002: Stardom and acclaim Known for his grin, Quaid has appeared in both comedic and dramatic roles. Quaid's breakout role was for his portrayal of astronaut Gordon Cooper in the critically acclaimed Philip Kaufman directed historical epic The Right Stuff (1983). The film received positive reviews earning an Academy Award for Best Picture nomination. Critic Roger Ebert praised the film writing, "It contains uniformly interesting performances" naming Quaid, Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, and Fred Ward. Also that year He had starring roles in the films such as the horror film Jaws 3-D (1983) and romantic sports drama Tough Enough acting alongside Pam Grier. He later acted in the science fiction films Dreamscape (1984) and Enemy Mine (1985) and Innerspace (1987). In 1987 he starred in the neo-noir romance thriller The Big Easy (1987) opposite Ellen Barkin. Hal Hinson of The Washington Post praised his performance comparing him to Jack Nicholson writing, "The same is true for Quaid. A gator grin spreading over his face, Quaid is so unabashedly full of himself that you get swept up in his enthusiastic high spirits. He's a life-giver, like Nicholson." For his performance he received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead. He also achieved acclaim for his portrayal of Jerry Lee Lewis in Great Balls of Fire! (1989) acting alongside Winona Ryder. In 1989, Quaid also appeared throughout the Bonnie Raitt music video for the song "Thing Called Love."Quaid's career lost steam in the early 1990s after he fought anorexia nervosa brought on when he lost 40 pounds to play the tuberculosis-afflicted Doc Holliday in the Western drama Wyatt Earp (1994) and recovered from a cocaine addiction. However, Quaid continued to garner positive reviews in a variety of films. He was also the guest star of a season 2 episode of Muppets Tonight (1997). He starred in the lead role in the 1996 adventure film Dragonheart, the remake of The Parent Trap (1998) directed by Nancy Meyers, playing the part of the twins' father, and as an aging pro football quarterback in Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday (1999) and in the science fiction film Frequency (2000). In 1998, Quaid made his debut as a film director with Everything That Rises, a television movie western in which he also starred.In 2000 he acted in Steven Soderbergh's crime drama Traffic which received critical acclaim. Quaid earned a nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture along with the ensemble. Quaid gained acclaim for his role in the Norman Jewison directed HBO film Dinner with Friends (2001). The film is based on the Donald Margulies play of the same name. He acted alongside Andie MacDowell, Greg Kinnear, and Toni Collette. In 2002 he portrayed former baseball pitcher Jim Morris in the Walt Disney sports drama The Rookie (2002). Also that year he earned acclaim for his role as the closeted husband Frank Whitaker during the 1950s in the Todd Haynes directed romantic period film, Far From Heaven. Quaid acted alongside Julianne Moore and earned a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture after winning the Independent Spirit Award and the New York Film Critics Circle Award. 2003–present: Established actor He then acted in films of various genres such as the thriller Cold Creek Manor (2003), the survival drama Flight of the Phoenix (2004), the war film The Alamo (2004), the romantic comedy In Good Company (2004), the disaster film The Day After Tomorrow (2004), and the family comedy Yours, Mine & Ours (2005). He played the president in the political comedy American Dreamz (2006) with Hugh Grant, Mandy Moore, Marcia Gay Harden, and Willem Dafoe. In 2008 he acted in the political action thriller Vantage Point (2008) alongside Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, and Forest Whitaker. That same year he.... Discover the Dustin Thao popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Dustin Thao books.