Dennis Quaid on Why He Makes a 'Great Team' with His Wife
Dennis and Laura Quaid
Dennis Quaid has always been for the underdog.
"They come through a lot," the two-time Golden Globe nominee told Parade of underdog stories. "Everybody loves to see worst to first because I think we feel that way about ourself at different times in our life."
The Long Game is the actor's latest underdog tale. The sports drama, which was released in theaters on April 12, is based on the true story of the Del Rio Mustangs, a group of young Mexican-American golf caddies who started their own high school golf team amid racism in Texas during the 1950s.
"It's a true story, and it's an American dream story," Quaid said. "It says how far we've come and it also is a reminder of where we were, and we still have a ways to go."
The Long Game is the first movie from Quaid and his wife Laura Quaid's production company, Bonniedale. "We want to do uplifting movies, underdog stories, American dream stories and this fit perfectly into what we're trying to do," The Parent Trap star shared. "It's kind of in the vein of movies that I've done like Breaking Away or The Rookie."
Quaid plays golf pro and assistant golf coach Frank Mitchell in the new film, which reunited him with one of his student athletes from The Rookie: Jay Hernandez. "Here we are 20 years later, again," Quaid said. "Only this time, he's the coach."
Quaid, of course, is no stranger to coaching roles. In his exclusive interview with Parade, The Right Stuff actor revealed that he's actually coached off-screen. Continue reading to find out what Quaid had to say about coaching one of his son's soccer teams, producing with his wife and more.
What was the experience like working with your wife Laura, producing this film?
She's got a lot of expertise in finance, for sure. She's very papered [laughs]. She went to McCombs Business School, so she knows a lot of stuff about the business part of stuff that I don't know and she really has really great taste and great story ideas and knows where we're going... I let her run things for the most part [smiles]. We collaborate on stories and things like that. We make a really great team, along with our other partner, Ben Howard, who I met when we were doing Blue Miracle, and, in fact, we have the same director, Julio Quintana, who is directing this [The Long Game].
How do you feel like your approach to picking projects has changed over the years?
Not very much, really. It's still the same thing. When I get a script, I read it from [the] point of view that I'm an audience member, a first-time audience member. And so I read the script like that, and it's mostly about the story. Does it really pull my attention? And I'll know by page 30 whether it's gonna do that or not.
You know, we live in such divisive times... Do you feel a movie like The Long Game is a good reminder of the American dream, that it is possible?
That's exactly why we thought that this would be a really good time for this movie, and this story. It's a true story, and it's an American dream story. It says how far we've come and it also is a reminder of where we were, and we still have a ways to go. We do. You know, it's an ongoing thing, this American dream and becoming one people, and we ought to also keep our ethnicities and keep our culture, and it's the blending these cultures and it's also the singularity of all the different cultures that make our country great. So I'm really proud of it.
It's set in the '50s, but it feels like a timely movie for today.
Yeah. It really does, doesn't it?
Yeah. Cheech Marin's character in The Long Game says something along the lines of "in life sometimes you land on the green, sometimes in the bunker, but always play it as it lies." Can you recall a point in your life where you felt like you were in a bunker that you successfully swung your way out of?
Well, yeah for sure [laughs]. The cliché of life is 'peaks and valleys.' No matter what kind of car you're driving. You live inside your head... When life is throwing you lemons or you go through tough times or whatever, it's how you handle it. That's what matters. Getting back up.
Right. Keep swinging. This movie wasn't your first rodeo as a coach and you always play a great and inspiring one... Is there someone that has played a role in your life that you channel when you're playing these roles?
No, not really [laughs]. [I've played] so many of them now, I probably just channel the last coach. No, I really kind of take each character at a time. And I don't play them as coaches. I try to [think of] my characters from their point of view and they always think of themselves as people. Before we think of what we do, we think, "Who are we?" I try to find out what makes them tick.
Related: Dennis Quaid on Finding Inspiration in the Faith Movie I Can Only Imagine
As I said, you do play a great coach...Have you ever put your coaching skills to the test off-screen coaching sports within your family, the kids [the actor shares his eldest child, Jack Quaid, with his second wife Meg Ryan, and twins, Thomas and Zoe, with his ex-wife Kimberly Buffington]?
I was the assistant coach on my son's soccer team one time. I'm a little too enthusiastic [to] get involved [laughs]... It's fun to go coach. I actually like to coach. To see somebody progress, giving out tips or whatever to make their day.
Was that Jack or Thomas who you served as an assistant coach for?
That was Thomas.
Well speaking of [son] Jack, are there any plans for you two to star together in a father-son movie?
I would love to do it. We're just waiting for the right thing to come along. I mean, he doesn't need me, that's for sure. He's really doing great guns. I'm so proud of him for that.
What's one story you'd like to bring to life, or tell next with your production company Bonniedale?
We have about five things in development right now. We want to tell stories that are uplifting. Like I said, that are about the American dream and underdog stories. [There's] a story from a book that was written by the family of Crazy Horse, which is the story of the Lakota Nation and the Battle of Little Bighorn, which they call Greasy Grass, and we want to tell that story from their point of view, which I think has really never been done before... And then Charley Pride, who was a great American country western singer. I think he was the first Black country artist. We got the rights to do his story, which is an amazing story. Plan on doing that, hopefully within the next year as well.
Related: 15 Black Artists Who Shaped Country Music
You are going to be playing a serial killer in Happy Face-
Yes!
What can you tease about that project?
He was a real guy, the Happy Face killer. Back in the '90s, he killed eight women throughout the country. He was a trucker. He was also a doting father to his daughter when she was growing up. The series is really from her point of view. How does she reconcile that this dad, who was so sweet to her and who she idolized, wound up being a killer, and how do you reconcile that? And that's what the series is really kind of about. Really kind of a father-daughter story.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Next, Everything We Know About Dennis Quaid's New Drama Series Happy Face
