Dennis Quaid and Jim Morris: Rookies with Experience

Actor Dennis Quaid has had his ups and downs in career and personal life. He was totally hot in the late 80s, worked in the 90s (remember him as the hottie dad in the re-make of The Parent Trap?) He has continued to work but had bouts with drugs and drink and then wife Meg Ryan left him for Russell Crowe (but we know how that turned out). It's great to see him back on screen and looking really lean, young and just as good as ever. He still has that huge smile too and is really great in the new family film The Rookie. We talked with Quaid and Jim Morris, the real life baseball player he plays in the film. Morris, a husky guy with huge, muscled arms, actually did go from small town Texas coach at age 35 to the major leagues for Tampa Bay and later to the Dodgers. He's now doing inspirational speaking and working in the Dallas area with high school athletes.

When Dennis and Jim came to our interview the two were wearing matching sports shirts. We though, 'how fun. Dennis is playing Jim so they dressed alike,' but it did look sort of cutesy. Dennis explained that it was a wild coincidence and Jim wanted to know who was cuter, him or the actor who plays him. We played it safe and didn't comment.

Quaid explained that Rookie director John Lee Hancock was looking for an actor who could look athletic but mature. "I've played a quarterback in films but haven't played baseball since I was in Little League. It's harder to be a quarterback because you've got to know what's going on around you and you've got helmets and pads and stuff like that. But I had to learn. I didn't want to pitch like a girl." Jim Morris told us that he worked with Dennis and the two were filmed side by side doing their pitching motions and then Dennis broke down the moves and got them down perfectly. Real major leaguers couldn't fault it. Quaid also worked with an ex- L.A. Dodger player.

Quaid's interest in the film was not so much in the sport but the heart behind it. "It's the story. When you see the movie, the story just takes you. It's very emotional. It's about much more than baseball. It's about second chance in life and (director) John Hancock really elevated it."

When asked about the mystique of baseball, Quaid had a very insightful response. "Baseball is what America thinks it is and football is probably what America really is. In football you have all this terminology that's kind of warlike. You have the blitz and the defense and the offense. In baseball you have words like 'sacrifice,' you know?"

Quaid found it easy to relate to the family man side of his character. "My son and I are best friends. I don't do research for that. I know what a 9 year old is like. My son was down there when we were shooting and we went to laser tag with Angus (who plays his son) one day. We swam in the pool and stuff like that."

Jim Morris found visiting the set a little weird. "The hardest part for me was being on a film set for the first time and watching the first few days of your life unwind. It's just overwhelming. But Dennis is such a nice guy. He made it easy for me to be there. So now people are going to think I'm cute." Quaid went to the high school where Jim taught and the local hot spots like the Dairy Queen. Jim says his life and town were well-researched by the filmmakers and he had no interest in giving them tips. "To be honest with you I feel blown away that somebody's going to do a movie about me and I have no Hollywood experience. I wouldn't know what to say or not say."

Dennis is quite famous for playing a mean guitar and singing whenever he gets the chance. Jay Hernandez told us that he and the cast and crew checked out a few Texas hot spots where Dennis did his musical thing while in Texas. Dennis explained the fascination for him. "The live performance takes the place of theater for me. I've been doing it since I was 12. I always have just felt the need to play. And you know the natural progression of that is playing in front of a live audience. I don't want a record deal. I did that back in the 80s. I had another band and we were going for a record deal which we actually got and I think my ego was really too wrapped up in it at the time. It became this thing where I wasn't having fun doing it to tell you the truth. And this time around it's a lot more fun. I'm happier now I guess."

Quaid and band have played in the L.A. area and in Phoenix for 10,000 people. Jim says, "The one thing that amazed me about him playing on stage is that he brings so much energy. He pulls so much electricity from the crowd and he gets everybody. It's fun to watch him perform." Quaid beams. "I play a character when I do music. I put on this persona, this rock and roll persona."

Quaid and actor brother Randy grew up around Houston but he was well aware of the small town southwestern experience. "My grandfather lived in a small town and I spent all my summers in little small towns and I know these people like those guys (in the film) that are in town at the stores, you know? You hang out at the little drug store, the little pool hall there with the guys and play dominoes."

Jim's reaction to this film of his life struggle was an emotional overload. "It made me cry. I watched in the theater that didn't know I was there until after it was over. And I walked out and said 'make sure you bring a lot of Kleenex in New York, because the premiere's going to get ya.' I mean it's hard watching the struggles, the good and the bad of everything. It brought everything back. One of the most emotional moments was when they had Dennis going out in the minor league game and he looks up in the stands and he sees his father and son sitting next to each other and then goes to do the job on the field and the bull pen. This happened not that long ago and it was done so well, that it was just like doing it again."

Dennis once had a rep for being cocky and difficult but we saw a change. "Well, I think anybody who carries themselves around like that is fooling themselves anyway because it's just a big delusion. Hollywood is one big high school. It's who's the most popular this year so what's the big difference? A hundred years from now, ask anybody who the biggest box office star of 1933 was. It's a pop cultural thing. I'd like to be a part of some sort of classic movie that you know people are still seeing a hundred years from now. It's what I do. I'd be doing regional theater if I hadn't made it doing this."

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Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.