Dennis Quaid Says He Relates to Ronald Reagan Because He Never Got to ‘Where He Wanted to Be’ as an Actor | Video

Dennis Quaid said that he can relate to the late Ronald Reagan, whom he plays in a new feature biopic, because, “he was really kind of a fading actor towards the end of his career.”

Quaid noted that Reagan, who retired from acting in 1964, initially ran for president of the Screen Actors Guild in 1947, which was “right around the time” his first wife, Jane Wyman, won a Best Actress Oscar for “Johnny Belinda.”

“I think he felt a bit of a failure, to tell you the truth,” said the “Innerspace” actor. “I know he never got to the place that he aspired to be and I could really relate to that,” he said on Thursday’s Megyn Kelly Show podcast.

Quaid also said he “didn’t have any qualms” about playing the late president, despite the political division in the country, noting that — like Kelly — he’s voted both Democrat and Republican in the past and was currently registered as an independent.

Quaid, whose films include “Frequency,” “Enemy Mine,” and “Traffic,” previously played Democratic president Bill Clinton in the 2010 TV movie “The Special Arrangement.” The film, which took place between 1997 and 2001, portrayed the rapport between Clinton and England’s Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was played by Michael Sheen.

As for his current political stance, Quaid recently said of GOP candidate Donald Trump, “He’s an a–hole, but he’s my a–hole.” In May, before Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race, he told Piers Morgan, “I think I’m going to vote for [Trump].”

The former “Right Stuff” began hosting the reality series “Top Combat Pilot” on Fox Nation in 2023 and recently signed to play a serial killer in the Paramount+ series “Happy Face.”

TheWrap’s reviewer summed up “Reagan,” which was directed by Sean McNamara, as “embarrassing” as well as “fawning and superficial.” It’s based on the 2006 biography “The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism” by Paul Kengor.

“Reagan”opens in theaters on Friday.

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