Aidan Quinn

Infobox Actor


name = Aidan Quinn
imagesize =
caption =
birthdate = birth date and age|1959|3|8
location = Rockford, Illinois, U.S.
othername =
spouse = Elizabeth Bracco (September 1, 1987 - present) 2 Children
awards = Sundance Film Festival - Special Jury Prize
2000 "Songcatcher"

Aidan Quinn (Irish: Aodhán Ó Cuinn; born March 8 1959) is an Irish American actor.

Biography

Early life

Quinn was born in Rockford, Illinois to devoutly Catholic Irish parents. [ [http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=16472533 Aidan Quinn Biography - Biography.com ] ] He was raised in Chicago and Rockford, as well as in Dublin, in Birr in County Offaly, and other places in Ireland. His father was a professor in literature and his mother a homemaker. He has three brothers and a sister. His older brother, Declan Quinn, is a noted cinematographer. Though a roofer by trade, Quinn got his start in the Chicago theater at age 19. He trained at the Piven Theatre Workshop. [ [http://www.piventheatre.org/content/view/5/26/ Piven Theatre Workshop - Alumni of the Workshop ] ]

Career

His first significant film role was in "Reckless", followed by a breakthrough role in "Desperately Seeking Susan" as the character "Dez" (the love interest of the character played by Rosanna Arquette). Quinn next starred in the controversial TV movie "An Early Frost", about a young lawyer dying of AIDS (it was broadcast on NBC on November 11, 1985) and co-starred such luminaries as Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara and Sylvia Sidney. He received his first Emmy Award nomination for the role which allowed him to gain recognition in Hollywood.

In 1988 Quinn lost the role of Jesus Christ when Paramount Pictures dropped the controversial Martin Scorsese movie "The Last Temptation of Christ". When Universal Pictures picked up the film, the role went to Willem Dafoe.

During the 1990s Quinn's career grew immensely. He found work alongside such Hollywood stars as Brad Pitt in "Legends of the Fall", Johnny Depp in "Benny & Joon" and Robert Duvall in "The Handmaid's Tale". He continually starred in films that allowed him to return to his Irish roots, such as "Michael Collins" and "Evelyn"

In 2000, Quinn portrayed Paul McCartney in the VH1 television drama, "Two of Us". He later met McCartney at a hotel, and they became good friends. Quinn was able to gain his first regular television role as the lead in the short lived, and controversial NBC drama "The Book of Daniel", in 2006 before being canceled after the first three weeks of its run. In 2007, Quinn received his second Emmy nomination for the television movie "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee".

Personal life

Quinn is married to the actress Elizabeth Bracco, sister of actress Lorraine Bracco. The two met in 1984 at a restaurant and later co-starred in "Stakeout". They married in 1987 and have two daughters, one diagnosed with autism. Ava Quinn was a perfectly normal baby, according to her father, until she was vaccinated. “So we had a normal child that was walking, talking, doing everything way faster than she was supposed to. Then, after an MMR, she got a 106 fever and turned blue and woke up the next day with dark circles and not knowing who she was. And uncoordinated. And her arm lifted up. Of course the doctors are all saying, ‘Oh, that’s normal.’” [ [http://www.irishabroad.com/news/irish-voice/entertainment/Articles/mighty-quinn180908.aspx The Mighty Quinn ] ]

Filmography

Television

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0001644|name=Aidan Quinn
*tvtome person|id=4395|name=Aidan Quinn