‘It’ll Cancel Itself’: Dennis Quaid Rips Cancel Culture, Talks Upcoming ‘Reagan’ Biopic, New Film In Exclusive Interview

Conservative News DailyMay 28, 2021

Actor Dennis Quaid is getting bolder, and busier, in his golden years.

The Hollywood veteran could be coasting on his legacy, banking on nostalgia and celebrity goodwill to snag easy projects. He built plenty of both with memorable turns in “Great Balls of Fire,” “The Right Stuff,” “Traffic,” “Far From Heaven” and “Any Given Sunday.”

Instead, the 67-year-old is embracing projects that clash with current industry trends. Think spiritual films and a biopic that could leave his peers with their mouths agape.

Quaid’s nuanced turn in 2018’s “I Can Only Imagine” found him in an unabashedly faith-based feature, and his newest film, “Blue Miracle,” flirts with that genre as well.

He stars as Wade, a washed-up fisherman tasked with saving a Mexican orphanage headed for extinction. To do so, he’ll have to win Bisbee’s Black and Blue tournament, a fishing battle royale where luck, skill and Mother Nature collide.

The fact-based tale brims with optimism, perseverance and faith, elements he hardly shies from. In fact, that’s part of the reason he joined the Netflix feature in the first place.

“There’s been a real burgeoning of faith-based films in this country, inspirational films, if you wanna call them that,” Quaid told The Daily Wire. “These are great stories that people want to see. There’s enough negativity out there.”

“Blue Miracle” director Julio Quintana says Quaid is an underrated actor with a knack for “putting something positive into the world.”

“He follows his heart, and the audience seems to respond,” Quintana says.

The fact that the orphanage featured in the film, Casa Hogar, actually exists and the fishing championship played out as it does in the movie sweetens the story.

His character in “Blue Miracle” is hardly the heroic type at first blush. He’s cruel to strangers, initially dismisses the orphans who are banking on his fishing skills and sees their presence as his ticket into the competition, nothing more.

“He pretends to be something that he’s not … he sort of brags to the world, puts on airs,” Quaid explains, a far cry from the character’s true sense of self worth. “He’s bankrupt inside.”

When Wade confronts his own past, and the orphans’ immediate future, he starts to change.

“That’s when miracles happen,” the actor says of the forces pitted against the fisherman.

Most actors might avoid talk of “miracles” and “faith-based” inspiration. Not Quaid. Then again, his entire career is a miracle of sorts. He’s suffered more than his fair share of flops in the early going, including “Dreamscape” and “Jaws 3-D.”

A cocaine addiction, and a very public breakup with “D.O.A.” co-star and wife Meg Ryan, also threatened his career trajectory. He overcame both, proving his worth as a leading man and supporting player.

In fact, he’s repeatedly bounced back from professional lulls, surprising critics and fans alike with superlative turns in projects that depart from his screen persona. Think a brash rogue with a grin that can’t always be trusted.

Age has softened some of those distinctive traits, but they still come in handy with “Blue Miracle.”

The biggest project on his 2022 calendar may require all of his former and current strengths. Quaid previously played presidents on screen, from the fumbling leader in “American Dreamz” to Bill Clinton in the TV drama “The Special Relationship.”

Now, he’s gearing up for what could be the biggest role of his roller coaster career – the country’s 40th president.

Quaid has immersed himself in all things Ronald Reagan for the project, one that kept shooting with strict COVID-19 protocols through the early months of the year.

“Reagan,” directed by Sean McNamara of “Soul Surfer” fame, is based on Paul Kengor’s book, “The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism.”

The film, co-starring Nick Searcy, Penelope Ann Miller (Nancy Reagan), Menu Suvari (Jane Wyman) and Jon Voight, promises the big screen’s first full-bodied look at the Gipper’s life and presidency.

“Reagan was not a rich man … that surprised me,” the actor says of his intensive research to prepare for the role. Quaid visited the Reagan ranch, an historic venue where parts of the film are being shot.

“The house itself was 1,700 square feet with a ‘king-sized bed’ that was two single beds strapped together with zip ties,” says Quaid, who doesn’t hide his affection for the conservative icon.

President Reagan favored principles over politics, Quaid adds, and his arrival on the national scene came when his nation needed him the most.

“We thought our best days were behind us as a people. He brought us back and won the Cold War,” he says, adding Reagan’s knack for uniting ideological foes remains part of his legacy. “There were so many ‘Reagan Democrats.’”

Quaid became a superstar in the Reagan era, a time when filmmakers didn’t worry about offending special interest groups or pulling creative punches. Today’s Hollywood is quite different thanks to Cancel Culture, but Quaid suspects the woke trend is on borrowed time.

“I think that the pendulum swings,” he says with a subtle laugh in his voice. “Cancel Culture is of the moment, but it’s not something that’s going to really be around for a long time.”

It might be hard to be optimistic about the cultural wave inhibiting artists and platforms alike, but the veteran actors says ordinary Americans “are starting to get the message” why it’s not the best way to create art.

That’s even true for those who may have cheered on the movement only to find themselves targeted by the same cultural forces, like Chrissy Teigen.

“It’ll cancel itself,” Quaid predicts, saying free speech will prevail sooner than later.

Quaid’s busy schedule leaves him little room for side projects of late. He’s already slated to appear in “Blue Miracle,” “American Underdog: The Kurt Warner Story,” “The Tiger Rising” and “Born a Champion” before 2021 wraps.

He still found time to hit the studio for his latest passion project – a new album with Dennis Quaid and the Sharks.

Audiences may know Quaid best for his acting, but from the very beginning of his career he was a double threat – actor and singer. Quaid is putting the finishing touches on a new gospel album he’s recording in Nashville, which could hit stores as early as August. His band may lean on the rock ‘n’ roll side, but he said his gospel songs are kissed with bluegrass and country flavors.

The unnamed record combines gospel tracks he wrote in the past as well as newer compositions. He left plenty of room for songs that speak directly to his heart.

The album will have “quite a few traditional gospel songs that I love and grew up with,” he says.

The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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