Dennis Quaid Opens Up About Passing On Roles In Major Hollywood Hits

Dennis Quaid started his acting journey in the ’70s, and by the ’80s the iconic actor had solidified his presence in Hollywood through remarkable performances in movies like Breaking Away, Innerspace, and The Right Stuff, where his portrayal of astronaut Gordon Cooper garnered widespread acclaim.

Throughout his illustrious career, Quaid has seamlessly navigated between commercial triumphs and critical acclaim, showcasing his remarkable versatility as an actor.  In a recent interview, the 70-year-old luminary, who starred in the upcoming movie Reagan, reflected on his career trajectory while reminiscing about the noteworthy acting opportunities he declined over the years.

Dennis Quaid says he has no regrets about passing up some movie roles

While discussing with Fox News Digital, Quaid revealed that even though he rejected some roles in projects that later became huge hits, he had no regrets about taking the decision. “I really don’t regret any of them. Instead of ‘Big,’ I did ‘The Big Easy,’ which turned out to be kind of what jump-started my career, and you can’t get everything,” he told the news outlet. “That’s the way it goes.”

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The actor further gave a list of some of the highly commercially successful movies he rejected, citing that he had good reasons for his choice. “I guess at the time there are reasons for it,” Quaid added. “I passed on ‘Big,’ passed on ‘A League of Their Own.’ I had good reasons for that, ‘Peggy Sue Got Married.’ There were a bunch of movies like that I passed on – The Dukes of Hazzard.”

Although the 70-year-old had turned down quite a number of movie roles, when he was contacted to play the titular role for the biopic, Reagan based on the life of the 40th President of the United States, he quickly seized the opportunity.

During a discussion, Quaid shared his experience during the production of the movie which is set to hit the theaters by August 30. He disclosed that it was not embodying the character of Ronald Reagan but the project gave him more insights into the personality of the former president. “It was one of the most challenging roles that I’ve ever had to kind of get down and know the person, he was actually a great communicator, very private, kind of unknowable person,” Quaid admitted. “I learned a lot in this role and a lot about him. He defeated the Soviets in the Cold War, going on for almost 50 years, without firing a shot. He led us out of times very similar to what we’re going through now and did it with principles rather than just the politics of the day.”