Dennis Quaid Almost Turned Down Playing Ronald Reagan — Here’s Why
By Movieguide® Contributor
Actor Dennis Quaid almost turned down playing Ronald Reagan in the upcoming biopic. In an interview with Fox News Digital, he shared why he didn’t.
“I didn’t say no, and I didn’t say yes because, really, fear,” Quaid said. “Reagan was my favorite president personally, and he was also such a recognizable figure around the world, sort of like Muhammad Ali…It was about feeling like I was going to be judged and feeling unworthy. He was the great communicator and all that. But I didn’t want to do an impersonation of him. I wanted to really kind of get to the core of who he was as a person. So, I put off saying yes.”
The actor was given the opportunity to visit Reagan’s California ranch to get a better idea of who the former president was.
“He was not a rich man, and there was a humility about him that was kind of the bedrock of who he was,” Quaid explained. “And I felt him. I felt this core there. They had the ‘Western White House.’ It was bought by a circle of friends after he passed to keep it as it was. And their clothes — he and Nancy’s clothes were in the closet still, just like they were.”
Quaid shared how his experience in the former president’s home culminated in his decision to take on the role.
“[There were] three remote controls like back in the ’80s when you had to use three remote controls to get the TV to work…Then, a note from Nancy, you know, on how to do it. Also, just the land itself. You could see that it was him that did all the work there. You could feel it. And that’s when, after that, I said ‘Yes, I’ll do this,’ because I found a way in,” he recalled.
The actor also noted how the 40th president was a man of great faith.
“I think that part of him had to do with his faith, that to go to a place where he had that personal relationship with his maker. And I think that was his guiding light. He was a man who, he governed as president — and also governor of California — on principle, not on the winds of change, you know, or what was popular at the time or trending.”
REAGAN is set to release to theaters on Aug. 30.
“From dusty small-town roots, to the glitter of Hollywood, and then on to commanding the world stage, REAGAN is a cinematic journey of overcoming the odds,” a synopsis reads. “Told through the voice of Viktor Petrovich, a former KGB agent whose life becomes inextricably linked with Ronald Reagan’s when Reagan first caught the Soviets’ attention as an actor in Hollywood, this film offers a perspective as unique as it is captivating.”
Along with Quaid, the cast stars Jon Voight, Penelope Ann Miller, Mena Suvari, Lesley-Anne Down, David Henrie and Kevin Dillon.
“Primarily filmed in Oklahoma during the fall of 2020, REAGAN debuted a first look of Quaid in the lead role tied to CinemaCon 2022. After a series of delays, it was reported this spring that the newly launched ShowBiz Direct had acquired the biopic for theatrical distribution. The biopic reemerged during this year’s CinemaCon in April. REAGAN marks the studio’s debut release,” Variety reported.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Newsweek explained the movie’s concept further, calling it “a narrative film as opposed to a documentary.”
“[It’s] based on two biographical books by Paul Kengor about the deceased former governor of California and 40th president of the U.S,” the outlet continued. “Voight’s character, though, is fictional, used as a device to show Reagan’s impact on world events, including the eventual downfall of the Soviet Union and how nervous he made communists during the Cold War.”
REAGAN will star Quaid as the former president, Penelope Ann Miller as former First Lady Nancy Reagan and Mena Suvari as Reagan’s first wife Jane Wyman.
“Portraying Ronald Reagan was an enormous challenge,” Quaid told Deadline. “This is an important movie, one of my most interesting roles and I am really excited to work with the ShowBiz team to get this film opened in theaters this Summer.”
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