How Jesus Transformed Dennis Quaid’s Life After Addiction
By Movieguide® Contributor
Actor Dennis Quaid found purpose in a personal relationship with Jesus. In an interview with TBN, the REAGAN actor shared intimate details about his journey to God.
“I identified always as a Christian, but I didn’t really know what that was,” he began. “And I, you know, was finally to the point where after everything was going great for me in the world, but…after I did GREAT BALLS OF FIRE where I played Jerry Lee Lewis, I wound up in rehab about six months after I finished the movie.”
He told PEOPLE last year that everyone is “looking for the joy of life,” and substances offer a quick fix before they become problematic.
Quaid explained how even though he got help in the form of rehab, the hole inside that led him to addiction in the first place was still there.
“When you get out, you still have that same hole,” he explained. “You might get sober, but you still have that same hole to fill.”
This time, instead of turning to substances, though, Quaid turned to the Bible.
“I went back, and I read the Bible again. And this time it was the red words of Jesus in the New Testament that really hit me. And that was the beginning of my personal relationship with Jesus Christ,” he revealed. “You know, I had never really gotten that before. And that continues to grow, but it’s about finding purpose in life and what is God’s purpose for us.”
Today, Quaid is open about his faith and shares the love of Jesus with others. Movieguide® reported on the actor’s faith journey:
“[My mom] was very much of the spirit. She was a Christian and she was raised like that. My grandfather, her father, he was a farmer and worked as a wildcat on the oil rigs and things like that, and he also was a tent preacher to make ends meet for a while and sold Bibles door-to-door,” Quaid said on Southern Living’s “Biscuits and Jam” podcast. “So we went to church quite a bit growing up…
“Into my mid-30s, you know, really have a bad thing goin’ on with cocaine, I think it had taken over me. And [I] had one of those white light experiences, and I checked myself into rehab, ‘cause I saw myself dead in five years or losing everything I had, or in jail,” the actor said…
“That’s when I went back and read the Bible again and this time I was very struck by the red words of Jesus, and from that, what started to happen was a personal relationship with Jesus and that’s really what it’s all about,” Quaid continued. “What he was saying was the good news, which was about heaven, but it was also about teaching us how to have heaven here on earth and to live that in our hearts.”
Quaid’s gearing up for the release of his next project, a biopic about Ronald Reagan, which will debut in theaters on Aug. 30.
“This is an important movie, one of my most interesting roles,” he said earlier this summer.
