Senior Planet Talks to…Dennis Quaid

Once one of Hollywood’s bad boys, four-times wed Dennis Quaid, 71, thanks his deep faith for bringing him peace – proudly starring in hit 2018 inspirational film I Can Only Imagine, and now in its highly-anticipated sequel.

Combining his three passions – faith, film and music – I Can Only Imagine 2, invites audiences to examine what happens when all our dreams come true.

The Texan actor – whose hit films include Great Balls of Fire, The Parent Trap and Far from Heaven – knows all too well the pitfalls of success, years ago struggling with addiction at the peak of his fame.

Previously wed to actresses P.J. Soles and Meg Ryan, today the father-of-three has found happiness with wife and fellow Christian Laura Savoie, telling SENIOR PLANET about his faith and playing golf when he’s 125.

Q: Talk us through your spiritual journey?

DENNIS: I grew up in the Baptist Church in Texas with Sunday school and the like, and I became disillusioned with the church as a teenager in the late 60s with what I would call  the “churchanity”, which seemed sort of like a Boy Scout merit system to me. But that may have been some hypocrisy with the church, and it could also have been just ignorance on my part – and also a yearning to explore other things.

Q: But you were still on a quest to find faith?

DENNIS: Yes, so I read Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha, which is really the story of Buddha, and that opened my mind to the rest of the world. And then I read the Quran, and I read the Dhammapada (Buddhist teachings) and I read the Bhagavad Gita (Hindu scriptures). I went around the world in my 20s, asking people, basically, who is God to you? And we all basically have the same concept of God although how we get there is maybe different in our rites and rituals, whatever.

Q: But your major commitment to Christianity came later, I understand?

DENNIS: Back in the 70s, I was into cocaine and stuff like that. You know, you get busy and you get involved in the world, and you go looking for things to fill that hole that’s inside you, that can never be filled by earthly things. But when I quit all that stuff, I went back and read the Bible again, cover to cover. That would be the third time that I read it. And that time, I was struck by the red words of Jesus. And that’s what brought me to having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I realized that is really what it’s all about. My mother had told me that that’s really what it’s all about – to have a personal relationship with God that is in your life, and you have somebody to talk to, and somebody to really take on all your burdens.

Q: And you continue to find sustenance from the Bible?

DENNIS: Yes. So I started reading it again actually, about a month ago for the fifth time. I find that every time that I read it, it’s like reading a different book in a sense, because every human experience that man could think of, or man has done or had is in the Bible.

Q: Without making any plot spoilers, does your role in I Can Only Imagine 2 make you contemplate mortality?

DENNIS: Heck. I have a sense of mortality every day! I mean, first off, I’m still not convinced that I’m going to die, and – if I do – I plan on making it to 130. I think it can be done at this point – and I’m talking about still being able to play golf up until 125. But, then again, I contemplate death every day because when you get to a certain point, you realize you have less left than what you had. Even if I was going to make it to 130 I’m still over half way there! I don’t know if it’s something you need to come to peace with or whatever. My mother and father are both gone, but I still talk to them and feel like I have a relationship with them, in a way, and they’re in me. So death is something I accept, I guess, but I also don’t believe quite believe it.

Q: What does a day in your life look like when you’re not on a movie set?

DENNIS:  I wake up, have coffee and play Sudoku for about 45 minutes for my brain – because I feel like it connects, or at least reconnects, some of those synapse connections. So that kind of gets me to focus. And then I either go ride the bike or play golf or do stuff around the house.

I’m an early riser. Once you’re a dad, it’s hard to sleep in. You just get into that habit.  So even if I’ve gone to bed at 2am I’ll pop open pretty much at 7am.

Q: Are there any roles on your bucket list?

DENNIS: I’m so grateful that I’ve had so many great roles in my career that have just happened to come my way. Playing real people is really kind of been most satisfying. From Reagan [Reagan] to Doc Holliday [Wyatt Earp] to astronaut Gordon Cooper [The Right Stuff] and the pitcher Jim Morris [The Rookie], so I’m just really grateful. I never know what’s going to come along next.

Q: What’s your secret to aging with attitude?

DENNIS: It’s really about just never giving up. I’ve been physically active, working out, since my 20s. And there was this older guy who I met back then who said: Take care of yourself in your 20s and 30s, and the rest will take care of itself. And he was right, because you form habits with that, and you never let your metabolism go slow. I would advise, if you can, when you’re young: Don’t stop because it’s really much harder to get back than it is to keep up.

NB: I Can Only Imagine 2 will be in theaters nationwide from February 20. 

 

Gill Pringle began her career as a rock columnist for popular British newspapers, traveling the world with Madonna, U2 and Michael Jackson. Moving to Los Angeles 27 years ago, she interviews film and TV personalities for prestigious UK outlets, The Independent, The i-paper and The Sunday Times – and, of course, Senior Planet. A member of Critics Choice Association, BAFTA and AWFJ, she wrote the screenplay for 2016 Netflix family film, The 3 Tails Movie: A Mermaid Adventure. An award-winning writer, in 2021 she was honored by the Los Angeles Press Club with 1st prize at the NAEJ Awards.

  

Photo: Dennis Quaid as Arthur in I Can Only Imagine 2. Photo Credit: Jake Giles Netter