'Reagan' star Dennis Quaid has no regrets despite turning down several massive Hollywood hits

Dennis Quaid is pleased with how his multi-decade career has panned out due to his career choices.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Quaid said that although he's passed on big films, he doesn't have any regrets.

"I really don't regret any of them. Instead of ‘Big,’ I did ‘The Big Easy,’ which turned out to be kind of what jump-started my career, and you can't get everything," he said. "That's the way it goes."

Dennis Quaid has no regrets when it comes to his acting career. (Paul Archuleta/Getty Images/File)

When it comes to choosing a role, Quaid just "waits for things to come" to him. He has passed on a few roles that went on to become legendary films.

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"I guess at the time there are reasons for it," Quaid said of the movies to which he said no. "I passed on ‘Big,’ passed on ‘A League of their Own.’ I had good reasons for that, ‘Peggy Sue Got Married.’ There were a bunch of movies like that I passed on – The Dukes of Hazzard."

Dennis Quaid is choosing to "ignore" his 70th birthday. (Getty Images/File)

One film Dennis didn't pass on is the biopic "Reagan," based on the life of the 40th president of the United States. The film was picked up for North American distribution by ShowBiz Direct in March.

Preparing to play Ronald Reagan was interesting to Quaid because Reagan was the first president he ever voted for. The actor wanted to make a point to not just do an "impersonation" of the former president, which proved to be difficult.

"It was one of the most challenging roles that I've ever had to kind of get down and know the person," he said. "He was actually a great communicator, very private, kind of unknowable person."

"I learned a lot in this role and a lot about him. He defeated the Soviets in the Cold War, going on for almost 50 years, without firing a shot. He led us out of times very similar to what we're going through now and did it with principles rather than just the politics of the day," Quaid continued.

Dennis Quaid portrays Ronald Reagan in his film that was recently picked up for North American distribution. (Getty Images/File)

According to Deadline, "Reagan" is expected to hit theaters on Aug. 30.

Outside his career, Quaid revealed to Fox News Digital that he's opting not to celebrate his milestone 70th birthday and is instead just going to "ignore" it.

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The "Parent Trap" actor admitted that starting a new decade "doesn't seem real." 

"Am I turning 70?" Quaid joked. "I'm just going to ignore it, that's what I'm going to do – just ignore the whole damn thing because it doesn't seem real to me."

Dennis Quaid points a gun into the face of a man in a scene from the film "The Big Easy" in 1986. (Columbia Pictures/Getty Images)

Quaid – who turned 70 on April 9 – has had a long, successful career in the film industry. He said that his biggest goal during his movie-making career was to take as many different types of roles as possible. 

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"It's great being an actor," he began. "You get to go and research [and] live all these lives that you would never get a chance to become acquainted with. You go through all these doors that say, ‘authorized personnel only’ and get all these experiences."

Dennis Quaid stars as Ronald Reagan in the upcoming biopic "Reagan." (Getty Images/File)

Quaid said his career has been "incredible."

"Each year just keeps surprising me," he said. "So, the only strategy I've had in my career is to do many types of roles as possible, and I think that I've done that."

Along with acting, Quaid released his debut gospel album, "Fallen: A Gospel Record for Sinners," in July 2023. Earlier this month, he celebrated the DVD premiere of his album.

"It's autobiographical," he said. "It turns out to be a part of the story, my spiritual journey."

Janelle Ash is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital.