Dennis Quaid has 50 films under his belt, and his career is still booming. At nearly 71, he doesn’t plan to slow down anytime soon. Over his career, he has taken on many interesting roles. However, one of his biggest challenges was portraying the legendary piano player, Jerry Lee Lewis. Quaid reveals he was forced to learn to play piano, practicing more than 12 hours a day. However, he claims that only one thing helped get him through.
Dennis Quaid admits that when he signed on to play Jerry Lee Lewis in the biopic Great Balls of Fire, he had no idea how much work would go into perfecting the role. Jerry Lee was a rock and roll performer who lived his life on his terms. He was best known for his wild ways and incredible piano-playing skills. Nicknamed The Killer, due to his talent and wild ways, he lived up to the name all of his life.
In 1988, Dennis Quaid took on the role for the upcoming 1989 biopic, Great Balls Of Fire. Dennis admitted having a year to prepare for the role, however, he was determined to perfect it. He wanted to “look like I knew what I was doing.”
That required dedication, determination, and 12-hour days of piano practice. In the 80s, Dennis Quaid revealed he suffered from a grueling and dangerous addiction to cocaine. He claims it is the one thing that got him through those 12-hour practice sessions. “It made it a little simpler to be at the piano 12 hours at a time. However, I’m not advocating taking cocaine to learn how to play the piano… You will wind up in a bad place.”
Dennis Quaid Has White Light Experience
Dennis Quaid admits to hitting rock bottom during the height of his addiction. The Parent Trap star claims his cocaine use was out of control. “I was basically doing cocaine pretty much daily during the ‘80s.”
Quaid states that growing up in the 60s and 70s, “there was a completely different attitude” about the drug. But Dennis’s cocaine addiction quickly began to take a toll on him and his career, according to the Daily Beast. He admits to using 2 grams of coke a day. “I liked coke. I liked it to go out,” Quaid stated.
Things escalated out of control for the actor. He recalls coming to a turning point in his life.“I remember going home and having a white light experience that I saw myself either dead or in jail or losing everything I had, and I didn’t want that.”
Dennis Quaid took that as his sign, and he quickly checked into rehab, which he calls “cocaine school”– in 1990 to overcome his substance abuse issues.
It has been three decades since Dennis Quaid kicked his cocaine addiction. The actor understands that he dodged a dangerous bullet. He has a great appreciation for life and has turned to faith to fill the void that his addiction left. “I’m grateful to still be here, I’m grateful to be alive really every day.”
It was a real battle for the star, but worth the fight. Dennis admits he is in a place of peace now. He considers himself one of the fortunate to have turned his life around.
