Dennis Quaid Opens up About Cocaine Addiction

The 'Right Stuff' actor had to make a decision 30 years ago that allowed him to reach this moment.

By Andrew Roberts

Dennis Quaid is getting real about his struggle with cocaine addiction shaped his character and fueled his turn to his faith after rehab. Speaking with PEOPLE as part of their latest cover story, detailing his time as an addict 30 years ago, and what led him to record a gospel album, titled Fallen: A Gospel Record For Sinners.

"I'm grateful to still be here, I'm grateful to be alive really every day," he opens up to PEOPLE. "It's important to really enjoy your ride in life as much as you can, because there's a lot of challenges and stuff to knock it down."

Quaid recounts checking into rehab after a string of successes that included 1989's Great Balls of Fire!, a biopic about Jerry Lee Lewis. Calling it "cocaine school" in his talk with the outlet, he credits a "white light" experience for pushing him to rehab. He also had a falling out with a band he was in, on the cusp of a big break. "[We] got a record gig... They broke up the night they got it, and they broke up because of me, because I was not reliable," he says.

His salvation was a common story for many seeking help, turning toward his faith to "fill that hole." "That's when I started developing a personal relationship," Quaid says. "Before that, I didn't have one, even though I grew up as a Christian."

"I grew up at the Baptist church; I love the hymns that I remember from being a kid," Quaid continued. "The songs are self-reflective and self-examining, not churchy. All of us have a relationship with God, whether you're a Christian or not."

Apart from the album, Quaid is keeping very busy, including his addition to the Taylor Sheridan slate with Lawmen: Bass Reeves on Paramount+ and a biopic on President Ronald Reagan. It would be the second president Quaid has played on the screen after his portrayal as Bill Clinton in The Special Relationship, opposite Michael Sheen as then-Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Being able to reflect on choices and struggles in the past is important, something Quaid is aware of now. "It's a struggle," he said. "We're all looking for the joy of life, and drugs give that to you and alcohol and whatever it is for anybody give that to you really quick. Then they're fun and then they're fun with problems, and then they're just problems after a while. That's really what we're looking for, the joy of life, which is our gift, actually, the relationship with God that we all have. It's at the bottom of it, the joy of being alive."

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