Actor starring in new film 'The Long Game,' out now
Dennis Quaid jokes 70th birthday celebration was like ‘‘being at your own funeral’
The actor shares how he and his wife, Laura Savoie, celebrated his 70th birthday and explained why he wouldn’t want to go back and change anything in his life.
Dennis Quaid celebrated his 70th birthday on April 9, but he didn’t opt for a blowout party to mark the milestone.
"It was kind of quiet at home. My wife got together little videos from everybody I know and love [and they said] something nice about me because there was a camera," he told Fox News Digital with a smile.
"That was really sweet. It really, really was. It was a little bit like being at your own funeral," he added with a laugh.
Quaid, who is starring in and produced his new film "The Long Game" with his wife, Laura Savoie, didn’t reveal who wished him well, but he said there were some surprise appearances.
Dennis Quaid revealed that his wife, Laura Savoie, put together video messages for his 70th birthday, but he joked that "It was a little bit like being at your own funeral." (Brenton Ho/Variety via Getty Images)
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"Yeah, my jaw dropped sometime[s], it was really sweet – people I hadn’t seen in years," he said.
With 70 years of life and almost 50 years in Hollywood behind him, Quaid is happier than ever with his life.
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When asked if there was a specific part he still wanted to play, he said, "No. I take everything as it comes along. It seems like the characters find me. The only strategy I ever had was to do as many different types of roles as possible. And I think I've been pretty good at accomplishing that."
He continued, "I enjoy it now more than ever, more than when I started out. I still feel those butterflies about it and feel so lucky to be doing it. And I'm not trying to get anywhere now or be anything; just doing it because I love it."
Quaid said he still gets "butterflies" about his career and enjoys it "now more than ever." (Corey Nickols/Getty Images for IMDb)
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The "Parent Trap" star joked he stays grounded through "many humbling experiences" and would actually advise his younger self to "take it easy."
"There's a lot of things that I [would have] done differently, but I wouldn't think to go back and do it because everybody's got to make a mistake first time around," Quaid said. "And it just happens to everybody. If it wasn't that, it'd be something else. So, coulda, woulda, should've, if only; that's just not a way to live."
Quaid is pulling double duty on his new film, "The Long Game," not only starring but producing through the production company that he started with Savoie.
Based on a true story and the book "Mustang Miracle" by Humberto G. Garcia, "The Long Game" tells the story of a group of young Mexican-American teenagers who work as caddies at a golf course and decide to take up the game themselves, despite racial barriers preventing them from playing at most places, including the country club where they worked.
"I enjoy it now more than ever, more than when I started out. I still feel those butterflies about it and feel so lucky to be doing it. And I'm not trying to get anywhere now or be anything; just doing it because I love it."
— Dennis Quaid
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"I already play golf only once a day, so that part [I] didn't have to really work on," Quaid joked. "Preparing was more about the story and the script and getting that along and helping out my director, Julio Quintana, who was so talented."
"They were caddies there, loved to play golf, but they could not play at this country club because of the color of their skin. It was a time of segregation, and so they built their own golf course out in the desert.
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"It was one hole, and they had like nine ways to come to it, and that's where they learned to play, on their own; they had such passion for it," he explained.
The boys start a team at their high school but struggle to enter tournaments and play on courses, and that’s where Quaid’s character comes in.
Quaid is shown with the cast and director of "The Long Game" at a screening in Hollywood this month. (JC Olivera/Getty Images)
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He was a pro at the country club and "he became the white face that [let] them in. And lo and behold, they won this Texas state championship their very first year at the country club where they couldn't play."
"If you dream that up [as] a fictional story, it's unbelievable. I wouldn't believe it, but it's true, and you can't deny it," Quaid added.
The Texas-born star feels the story is still "very relevant" to today’s world.
"It’s important, I think, to the times of which it is to look back and see where we were," Quaid said.
Quaid said the film is still "very relevant" to audiences because it reminds people of where the country once was with regard to racism and how "we've come a long way." (Getty Images)
He continued, "You know, I remember separate restrooms, separate places to sit in the theater, separate drinking fountains, all kinds of things. You know, that was just weird. But it's important to let people know who were born after a certain time that that went on, and also to just see how far we've come. We've come a long way. And I think it's important to hold on to our history."
"And I think it's [an] important thing in this melting pot, so many cultures that we have here, we're all Americans, but it's important to hold on to one's roots and all of those different cultures, because that's what makes us great and strong."
"The Long Game" is in theaters nationwide now.
