Dennis Quaid on Decision to Star as President Ronald Reagan in Biopic

Hollywood is home to many experts on counter-programming but insiders behind the new film Reagan, which had its world premiere Tuesday at the town’s most iconic theater, insist that it was merely a coincidence that the event bumped up against the Democratic National Convention.

“It wasn’t intended but what the heck, that’s awesome,” offered filmmaker Sean McNamara with a smile, adding that despite missing the night’s program that featured onetime White House residents Barack and Michelle Obama, he would be watching clips once he got home. “I always watch it all day if I’m not working to try and get a sense of what everybody is saying, both Republicans and Democrats.”

McNamara, who pointed out that he’s a registered Democrat, said people are sometimes too quick to link politics to movies when sometimes those ties don’t tell the full story. “Look at the movie Lincoln,” he continued. “[Abraham Lincoln] was a Republican and that didn’t matter. It doesn’t matter what [political party] someone belongs to as long as you agree with their agenda and policies. With Reagan, our film has everything. It’s not only about his presidency. It’s also about him as a little boy, how he grew up, how he fell in love with Nancy and their love story. It goes on to detail how he became governor then president through to when he retired and when he got Alzheimer’s. It’s the full length of his life story.”

The film — written by Howard Klausner, produced by MJM Entertainment and distributed by Showbiz Direct — casts Dennis Quaid as the late Ronald Reagan. The 40th president of the United States, who served from 1981-89 as a Republican, appeared in 53 films as an actor before segueing to politics. He served as the president of the Screen Actors Guild and later shifted from liberal to conservative in becoming the governor of California in 1966. He was reelected in 1970.

When Quaid hit the red carpet in front of The Hollywood Reporter last night, he surveyed the scene and looked up at the gigantic banner featuring his face as Reagan hanging from the side of the TCL Chinese Theatre. “This feels like one of those old Hollywood premieres,” exclaimed the veteran actor. “It really is.”

It looked like one. There was the requisite crush of press and photographers, well-heeled guests (including more men decked out in tuxedos than typically seen outside of award shows), and movie costumes, memorabilia and even a White House podium with blue drapes displayed inside the TCL Chinese Theatre lobby.

There were other accoutrements not commonly found at Hollywood premieres. There were plenty of red, white and blue ensembles. Reagan actor Jon Voight, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, wore a silk tie that featured text from the Pledge of Allegiance. Conservative actor Nick Searcy, who participated in the Jan. 6 insurrection and has been one of Trump’s most outspoken supporters, strolled the red carpet to chat up his role in Reagan. One of the reporters on the press line hailed from a Christian media company.

The mix made sense to Penelope Ann Miller, who stars opposite Quaid as Nancy Reagan. “There are a lot of Democrats in the film, and a lot of Democrats are here to support our film because they are interested in finding out more about Reagan. We all need to be able to talk to each other,” she says. “It’s so divisive in our country, and if you shut down one side over another, it’s harmful. We’re all a part of the same country and it’s important that we all can be seen and heard. One of the great things about Reagan was that he was such an effective communicator. He was able to cross party lines.”

Quaid said he voted for Reagan in 1980. “I went home and my roommate said, ‘Who’d you vote for?’ I said, ‘Reagan.’ He said, ‘You’re kicked out of the hippies,’ so I turned in my card. I think I still have it somewhere. I can still rejoin,” quipped Quaid, who has the distinction now of playing Reagan, former President Bill Clinton (in The Special Relationship) and a George W. Bush-type character (in American Dreamz).

“I had a tinge of fear grow up my spine, and that’s usually a sign that I should do [a role] because it takes me out of my comfort zone,” Quaid said as to why he eventually signed on for the film. “Fear is really very valuable. But I didn’t say yes right away because I wanted to make sure I could feel him and as a person instead of doing it impersonation. I went to the Reagan ranch and I could feel him up there. It was really quite something.”

Back to the DNC. Klausner said he was “very glad” to be missing the broadcast in favor of his film’s premiere. “I’m exhausted and I think I speak for a lot of Americans. We’re just exhausted. Can we all just get along? Let’s find a way to reach one another. Whoever the leader is, that’s the leader. But can we stop it with all the fighting? Can we just stop it?” asked Klausner, whose other credits include God’s Not Dead: A Light in the Darkness. “That was Reagan’s message, too. That guy got along with people who didn’t like him at all.”

Klausner is one of those insiders who insisted the timing of the premiere was merely coincidental. “I signed on for this movie in 2010, and there were probably four or five times that we thought everything was lining up to shoot,” he explained. A pandemic and an actor’s strike caused further disruptions in getting it across the finish line, not to mention finding a distributor that could release the finished product. “It seems like something a little divine happened because now I think we need healing in this country more than anything. I hope it lands [with audiences] because I’m more interested in the cultural impact right now than an election.”

Clint Black, a longtime friend of Quaid, also walked the carpet to chat up his work on the film’s soundtrack, performing a John Denver song. “I don’t navigate [politics],” said the legendary country music star who added that he was honored to be a part of the film for his “pal” Quaid and perform a track that he grew up singing in bars. “I don’t feel like I have any influence. I just kind of think I know what I know, and I’m not about to get involved in all of it. It’s like owning a shoe store and telling half your customers what to do.”

As for Voight, he told THR that while he considered tuning into the DNC for “a little bit,” he might not. “I have other things to do,” continued the actor, who revealed that he often takes some heat for his support of Trump and his conservative views. “We have freedom of speech but we should also have freedom of intolerance. It’s foolish. I want to know what people really think. I don’t want to know some form of something they think is appealing to me. I want to know what people really think. You can’t have a friendship if you can’t have some kind of honesty in it.”