Dennis Quaid, the star of I Can Only Imagine, dreams up a few factoids for Us Weekly. Read on to learn 25 things about the actor.
1. Piloting my first flight with passengers, there was a black cloud and the plane started to descend. I thought we were going to die but couldn’t freak out, so I just veered over restricted airspace. That was divine intervention.
2. My biggest pet peeve is pettiness.
3. I studied ballet at the University of Houston. It’s an incredible workout.
4. My celeb crush is Donna Reed. The scene she has with Jimmy Stewart in It’s a Wonderful Life is one of the most beautiful film moments.
5. My biggest dream is to have music on the radio.
6. My favorite book is the Bible.
7. The biggest misconception about me is that I’m a nice guy.
8. I once wanted to be an astronomer. I’m fascinated with the stars.
9. I love watermelon.
10. My favorite movie I’ve made was The Right Stuff, about the original seven astronauts. I grew up in Houston and watched them on TV in the first grade. That replaced me wanting to be a cowboy.
11. I was a veterinarian’s assistant when I was 12. I cleaned up, fed the animals and watched operations.
12. My band the Sharks are going to be the oldest guys to make it in rock ’n’ roll.
13. I had a one handicap in golf. Then my twins came along and they wrecked it.
14. My proudest moment was the day I let my son off at the airport to go to college.
15. I went to college only because of Mr. Pickett, the acting teacher. The first week of his class, I knew what I wanted to do with my life.
16. The greatest part of being a father is being in the car with them on the way to school. That’s where you really get to know them.
17. My favorite place is home, and that could be anywhere. Wherever I really feel at peace, that’s home.
18. I turned down Big. I made a few more stupid choices after that too. I just didn’t learn.
19. I wanted to be a musician before I wanted to act.
20. If I could meet anyone it’d be myself when I was 32. I’d tell myself to take it easy.
21. My scariest moment was when my twins were overdosed with [the blood thinner] Heparin.
22. Lawrence of Arabia is, for me, a perfect movie.
23. I love Michael Caine because he doesn’t make a big deal about acting. I hate self-involved actors.
24. My girlfriend and I were in Hawaii when we were woken by the ballistic missile alert. I got back into bed, and we watched the waves. I figured, if we’re going to die, we might as well be in paradise.
25. I auditioned for the Pirates of Penzance. It was dancing and singing. I was so terrible. You could see them having to stifle their laughter.
