Dennis Quaid's Latest Role Is His Favorite of All Time: 'Reagan Was a Hero of Mine'

Actor Dennis Quaid brings the story of Ronald Reagan to the big screen in the new biopic "Reagan". Quaid has portrayed real characters in numerous movies, including an astronaut in the film "The Right Stuff", Rock and Roll icon Jerry Lewis in "Great Balls of Fire" and more. Now he has the role of America's 40th President in the film "Reagan" – one he calls his favorite.

"It's become my favorite role I have ever had actually. Reagan was a hero of mine. I voted for him twice and he was like, everybody's dad. He was a real heavyweight, and he won the Cold War. It really meant a lot to me in my life for all of us of that generation and for the generations today. And playing him was the challenge of my life. The biggest challenge of playing Reagan was getting down to him as a person, not the hero that he was to me and so many people, and that's kind of warts and all because that's who we are," he told CBN News.

"There was a place in Reagan, in talking to people who really knew him and were close to him, that was very private, that was impenetrable. This is the great communicator we're talking about. That's what makes people tick down at their core. And that was where I wanted to get to. Like I said, I didn't want to do an impersonation, and fear went up my spine because Reagan was like Muhammad Ali," he continued.

Quaid did point out the similarities the Reagan family had with his family.

"We were similar in many ways. I didn't see myself as Reagan. I didn't think I looked like him and sounded like him. But we both have positive dispositions, I think, down at the bottom of things. And he was an actor," he said.

Finding Reagan's distinctive voice for the role was also important for Quaid. 

"They offered me the part in 2018, and we didn't start shooting until Covid in 2020. Great time to make a movie. I basically talked like that for a year to my family. They had to put up with it I guess. In earlier life, he had, his voice was very much higher. It was way up here. And it wasn't until about the time that he was President that he comes down to where you slow down and well, you talk slower," Quaid added.

The film also explores Ronald Reagan's faith in a way many didn't know about.

"It was such a huge part of his life. It was an everyday part of his life, starting from as a young boy. He even made the decision on his own to be baptized at that time. His mother was his rock. That's another way that we're very similar. And he had an alcoholic father, which is kind of similar. That does something to a person, and you need a rock. He found that early on," he told CBN News.

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Quaid also told us how the film dives into Ronald Reagan's beautiful love story to his wife Nancy.

"He wrote her love letters every day, a little note or whatever, even when he was in the hospital after the assassination attempt actually. And I don't think there would've been a President Reagan if it wasn't for Nancy."

In all, the process in putting together this film was difficult.

"I think it was a lot of tension just with it getting made. The only thing that I really insisted upon is that it not come out during an election year. I didn't want this to be perceived politically, and it's not a political movie at all," he said. "But then again, interest is very high in Reagan. And the times we're living in, especially 78, 79, 80 are so similar to 21, 22, 3 and 4 actually. And so, I have to say, well, what do I know?"

"Reagan" is now showing in theaters nationwide.