Dennis Quaid Says Hollywood Is in a ‘Spiritual Awakening’

Dennis Quaid Says Hollywood Is in a ‘Spiritual Awakening’

By Movieguide® Contributor

Dennis Quaid is pleasantly surprised by how Hollywood has responded to his faith—proof that there’s a “spiritual awakening.”

“I think there’s a spiritual awakening actually going on in our country right now,” he said. “There’s been a lot of turmoil, and that’s what spiritual awakenings look like because of what it takes to get there. I think we’re right at the beginning of it.”

The actor currently makes his faith a priority in his personal life and his career. He recently starred in several faith-based films, like, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE, SOUL SURFER, THE HILL, and ON A WING AND A PRAYER.

Quaid received a Movieguide® Grace Prize® nomination for most inspiring performance in I CAN ONLY IMAGINE, won the Graze Prize for his ON A WING AND A PRAYER performance, and movies he’s performed in, including SOUL SURFER and THE PARENT TRAP, have received Teddy Bear Awards®.

“I’ve been actually kind of surprised by that, like by the success of ‘I Can Only Imagine’ — it’s not a Hollywood movie,” Quaid explained. “Hollywood doesn’t understand their audience anymore. People want to go to the movies to feel things and can’t just discount the spirit, and people hunger for that. And so these stories are really getting a lot of traction these days.”

Quaid’s upcoming projects are REAGEN, a movie about the 40^th president of the U.S., and HAPPY FACE, a series based on a true story about a serial killer and his daughter.

“As an actor, it’s about understanding human beings, what makes us tick. I don’t restrict myself. I learn things about myself with every part I play,” Quaid told the Christian Post.

Quaid grew up in a Baptist church, but a negative experience with a Sunday school teacher sparked his exploration of other religions.

“The subject matter turned me off,” he said. “There were probably some other things, too. I started asking questions that didn’t have answers. … I started to question my faith.”

Quaid read the Dhammapada, the Quran, and the Bible.

“I got hung up in the Old Testament, how violent it was. God seemed like a punishing God back then to me. A lot of it just didn’t make sense,” he said.

“To fill the “hole” inside of him as his Hollywood star began to rise, Quaid started experimenting with drugs and soon found himself addicted to cocaine. It wasn’t until the mid-1990s that the Texas native made the decision to get sober — and revisit the teachings he believed as a young child,” The Christian Post reported.

He read the Bible “cover to cover” and the red highlighted words that Jesus spoke stuck with him.

“That was the beginning of my personal relationship with Jesus Christ,” he said. “And that’s really what it’s all about. From there, it’s grown, and it does fill up that hole inside me. I was there all along; my mother taught me that, but we have to learn things for ourselves. It led me right back to where I started.”

Now, Quaid has read the Bible front-to-back four times. He thinks the book of John communicates the heart of the Gospel in profound ways other books of the Bible don’t.

“I think John brings together physics and the Spirit and explains it in a timeless way,” Quaid said. “He points to a bigger truth that we have no words for.”

Quaid, a talented musician who performed at this year’s Movieguide® Faith & Values Awards Gala, recently released an album called Fallen: A Gospel Record for Sinners.

“I wanted the album to reflect me; I didn’t want it to seem like churchy, or preachy or, ‘everything is just wonderful,'” Quaid said. “I thought it would work to reach people that aren’t in that world and are in that world because we’re all sinners.”

“And it’s by grace that we’re saved, and that’s free, redeemed. We actually don’t deserve it, but we get it by grace anyway,” he continued. “How that’s what I want the songs to reflect. This record is really the story of my spiritual journey.”

Movieguide® reported on the album last year:

Dennis Quaid is opening up about the process of making his new album “Fallen: A Gospel Record for Sinners” and why he prefers Nashville over Hollywood.

“A lot of people are embarrassed to talk about their faith,” Quaid told Variety. “They think it’s some kind of Boy Scout thing, where you’ve got to follow the rules. But I talk to God a lot, every day. I question everything I do. I believe it’s about keeping trying. It’s about self-examination and throwing your ego out the door.”

Variety asked Quaid if his younger self would appreciate the Gospel message of his album.

“That Dennis, I’m not sure I could tell him anything. I’m grateful I went through those things, and I got through those times. It’s what made me who I am today,” he said.