Aidan Quinn (Irish: Aodhán Ó Cuinn; born March 8 1959) is an Irish American actor.
Biography
Early life
Quinn was born in
Rockford, Illinois to devoutly Catholic Irish parents. He was raised in
Chicago and Rockford, as well as in
Dublin, in
Birr in County
Offaly, and other places in
Ireland. His father was a professor in literature and his mother a homemaker. He has three brothers and a sister. His older brother,
Declan Quinn, is a noted cinematographer. Though a roofer by trade, Quinn got his start in the Chicago theater at age 19. He trained at the
Piven Theatre Workshop.
Career
His first significant film role was in
Reckless, followed by a breakthrough role in
Desperately Seeking Susan as the character "Dez" (the love interest of the character played by
Rosanna Arquette). Quinn next starred in the controversial
TV movie An Early Frost, about a young lawyer dying of
AIDS (it was broadcast on
NBC on
November 11,
1985) and co-starred such luminaries as
Gena Rowlands,
Ben Gazzara and
Sylvia Sidney. He received his first
Emmy Award nomination for the role which allowed him to gain recognition in Hollywood.
In 1988 Quinn lost the role of Jesus Christ when Paramount Pictures dropped the controversial Martin Scorsese movie The Last Temptation of Christ. When Universal Pictures picked up the film, the role went to Willem Dafoe.
During the 1990s Quinn's career grew immensely. He found work alongside such Hollywood stars as Brad Pitt in Legends of the Fall, Johnny Depp in Benny & Joon and Robert Duvall in The Handmaid's Tale. He continually starred in films that allowed him to return to his Irish roots, such as Michael Collins and Evelyn
In 2000, Quinn portrayed Paul McCartney in the VH1 television drama, Two of Us. He later met McCartney at a hotel, and they became good friends. Quinn was able to gain his first regular television role as the lead in the short lived, and controversial NBC drama The Book of Daniel, in 2006 before being canceled after the first three weeks of its run. In 2007, Quinn received his second Emmy nomination for the television movie Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.
Personal life
Quinn is married to the
actress Elizabeth Bracco, sister of actress
Lorraine Bracco. The two met in 1984 at a restaurant and later co-starred in
Stakeout. They married in 1987 and have two daughters, one diagnosed with
autism. Ava Quinn was a perfectly normal baby, according to her father, until she was
vaccinated. “So we had a normal child that was walking, talking, doing everything way faster than she was supposed to. Then, after an
MMR, she got a 106 fever and turned blue and woke up the next day with dark circles and not knowing who she was. And uncoordinated. And her arm lifted up. Of course the doctors are all saying, ‘Oh, that’s normal.’”
Filmography
Television
References
External links