Back to basics

Published: Friday, October 31, 1997

Friday, October 31, 1997

Back to basics

FILM: Character, content convince Dennis Quaid to star in "Switchback"

By Aimee Phan

Daily Bruin Staff

There seem to be two types of actors in Hollywood: the stars and the unemployed.

Dennis Quaid, star of such movies as "Wyatt Earp," "The Big Easy" and the upcoming "Switchback," is thriving quite comfortably in the middle.

Although Quaid has appeared in feature films for almost 20 years, the actor best recognized for his Joker smile still hasn't quite attained the cushy box-office status of such actors as Jim Carrey, Tom Cruise or even his wife of six years, Meg Ryan.

It might have something to do with his quirky film selection. Unlike other actors who are still looking for that star vehicle to make them world-famous, Quaid prefers films with strong story content and characterizations.

"If the story really holds me, then that's what attracts me to (the project)," Quaid says. "There are things I've turned down because the logic didn't work for me. Sometimes, they wind up being $200 million blockbusters, but (those films) just didn't appeal to me."

And while his choices have not exactly made him a big star, Quaid has no problems with his current working status in Hollywood. Instead, he relishes privacy over celebrity when it comes to wife Ryan and their young son, Jack.

"You don't see us in the tabloids and they don't really follow us around," Quaid says. "We don't really go out all that much or put ourselves in that situation where we're sort of asking for it. We're lucky it doesn't happen."

Quaid's protectiveness over his family mirrors the character he plays in "Switchback." Quaid plays the determined FBI Agent Frank LaCrosse searching for the serial killer who has kidnapped his son. Quaid sympathizes with Frank's anguish as the character searches for his little boy, knowing the fears that many parents have about the possibility that their own children can be taken away.

"It's every parent's nightmare that something like this could happen," Quaid says. "You wake up and you have to catch yourself sometimes. We have always been very protective of (Jack) especially since the both of us are high-profile people."

One of the benefits of accepting this role for Quaid was getting to research his role as an FBI agent.

"Doing the research is really my favorite part of acting," Quaid says. "I get to go to Quantico, Va., and go behind the doors that say 'Authorized Personnel Only.'"

While there, Quaid was able to examine his character more closely as he spent time with real agents who do the job he pretends to do in the movie.

"I found that FBI profilers are very intuitive and have a lot in common with actors since they really do the same thing," Quaid says. "They're really questioning the human psyche and digging under the surface and trying to find out what makes (serial killers) think."

Another benefit of acting in this film was working with popular screenwriter Jeb Stuart ("The Fugitive," "Die Hard") who is making his directorial debut with "Switchback."

"I loved the script; it kept me on the edge of my seat while I was reading it," Quaid says. "I've been a Jeb Stuart fan from way before. A lot of people know Jeb, but they don't know that they know him because we love his movies."

Stuart is not the only one who is crossing career paths to directing. Quaid has recently finished up his directorial debut for a TNT movie called "Everything that Rises," which is set to air in July. Quaid admits he was apprehensive the first day on the set, but soon warmed up to the creative process that directing entails.

"I hate all the tedium you feel as an actor," Quaid says. "For me, the acting is free, they pay me to basically wait on a set. But as a director, you're never in your trailer, you're on your feet all day long. There's all these kind of little decisions to make in between takes and trying to get a picture in your head up on the screen."

Another upcoming project that Quaid is working on is a re-make of the classic Disney film "The Parent Trap" with the same filmmakers who remade "Father of the Bride" with Steve Martin.

"This is an updated version of it," Quaid says. "I always had a crush on Hayley Mills and I read the script and it was very romantic."

Whether this film or "Switchback" will raise Quaid's marquee value in Hollywood, though, is of no concern. Quaid plans to continue finding projects that inspire him and has no interest in trying to become a mega-movie star.

"To tell you the truth, I really wouldn't want that kind of Tom Cruise bright light," Quaid says. "Where's your privacy? Where's your life? I'm sure he's probably a happy guy, but for me, I really wouldn't like that sort of bright light."

FILM: "Switchback" opens today.

Paramont Pictures

Dennis Quaid plays an FBI agent on the trail of an elusive serial killer in "Switchback."

Paramont Pictures

Bob Godall (Danny Glover, left) and Lane Dixon (Jared Leto, right) wander the Colorado Rockies by railroad in "Switchback."