N'Movies: Interview with Actor Dennis Quaid

Based on a true story, The Express follows the extraordinary life of college football hero Ernie Davis, one of the greatest running backs in college football history and the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy. Under the guidance of legendary Syracuse coach Ben Schwartzwalder (Dennis Quaid), Davis’ fight for equality and respect forever changed the face of American sports, and his story continues to inspire new generations. Dennis Quaid was in town recently to discuss the movie. The Express opens this week.

N’DIGO: On so many levels, this is a great movie … and not necessarily just a football movie. Was that intentional?

DQ: I thought that it was more than just a football movie, which is really my requirement when doing a sports movie. It has to be … it has to transcend the sport. And to me, this film is about Corinthians 15, actually. When Ernie reads there at the dinner table: I am what I am because of God’s grace and may the grace that God’s bestowed upon me be used to great effect. I think that speaks to all our lives really.

N’DIGO: What is your message to our readers about this movie?

DQ: I hope they’re inspired by it. That’s really my hope. It certainly inspired me. Usually, when I watch a film I’m in, I watch it kind of technically because I was there and knew what went on. The Express really hit me in my heart and hit me in my gut, and it touched me in a place where I had no words. That deeper truth, that’s there. The movie is about grace. God’s grace and using that to its full effect and giving it back. And we all have that there. It’s all about … opening yourself up to receive it. That’s the way I hope people look at their own lives.

N’DIGO: There’s a scene where the coach tells his players to ‘never let anyone steal your history.’ Right now, our high school kids are really going through a devastating time with violence and a lack of resources. How important is it that our kids know Ernie’s story?

DQ: He’s such a great icon. And a forgotten one, in a lot of ways. I’m surprised at how many sports savvy people were unaware of Ernie’s story. His story was shaped by his family—his grandfather and his mother, she was a very strong lady, it seems. It’s very important … father figures are very important for kids, especially young men growing up. My parents separated when I was 11, in fact, but I was fortunate in that my dad and I had a really strong relationship and that’s one of the treasures of my life. Kids need mentors. They need someone to be around to teach them the difference between right and wrong. Because guys, especially, need older men to pattern their lives off. They look for heroes. Ernie certainly found that in his grandfather. Ben and he actually ended up becoming kind of father and son. Ernie changed Ben, and Ben certainly grew to have a great love of Ernie and called him the best person he’d ever met.

N’DIGO: What did you learn about yourself doing the movie?

DQ: I had more perspective on the world that I grew up in and how, though, we’ve come a long way, in terms of segregation and civil rights, we still have a ways to go, too. Jim Brown and I were talking about this: We’ve all become so politically correct that we’re afraid to step on toes and talk about things in a real way. We talk around it, but instead of having a real dialogue about it. That’s one of the great things about, say, Barack Obama running for president. It really starts a dialogue about things.

N’DIGO: What is the biggest misconception about Dennis Quaid that you’d like to clear up?

DQ: (Laughs) I’m not sure if I want to clear up any misconceptions about me, to tell you the truth! Just let there be a mystery about it.

Associate editor Natalie A. Collier contributed to this interview.