Aidan Quinn Is Moving To Detroit

Hi jct, sorry it's been a while, hope you're still reading! Lots of things going on, so I wasn't able to get back here sooner. I also enjoy our conversation here about an actor who is pretty much under the radar most times.

I saw "Desperately Seeking Susan" a couple of weeks ago. I thought it was mildly funny but really liked Quinn's character, Dez. He had his head on straight, kind of like being the eye of the hurricane through all that's going on. I did laugh when Quinn and the guy playing Arquette's husband ran and jumped on the stage in the nightclub, there was something very comedic and athletic about it at the same time.

JUST GOT..."At Play...." the other day! Haven't been able to watch it yet due to other demands on time. I found what I hope is a decent used library copy of the film. Thank you for the suggestion on the book "At Play..." -- until this point I wasn't aware of a book per se, thought that it was maybe a stage play adapted somehow. (Don't know where I got that one from.)

Maybe this coming weekend I'll have my own movie party with popcorn, etc., and watch "At Play..."! People are gone and so I have access to the one VCR left in the house, without interruption. Bliss!

One other film that I have, that I forgot I had, is "This is my Father." Another one to queue up and thankfully it's on DVD!

I read a fairly recent interview with Aidan Quinn, who said that as he nears 50, he finds the roles a lot harder to get, smaller in scope, and paying less.

"At Play..." is the kind of (long) movie that, after an initial slow start, sweeps you into the story and the setting. It marries the most beautiful ethereal music with panoramic vistas of the Amazon, and has some lovely hymn tunes worked in (especially "Nearer My God to Thee" in a death scene). You should also read the acclaimed novel by Peter Matthieson, on which the movie was based (same title). Lots of theological meat to chew on - I'm going to suggest we study it in Sunday School.

I am still upset about "Book of Daniel". I have seen or heard of much more "blasphemous" material on, for example, South Park (God hitting on a woman in a bar with his "magic fingers"), Simpsons, movies etc. I just saw a trailer for a movie with a musical of a "sexy Jesus" Book of Daniel actually was respectful toward religion and religious practice. How many TV shows depict someone reading a Bible, or a family saying grace before meals, or listening to a sincere sermon, or where a man cannot forgive himself because he failed to act in a Christlike way (when Daniel punched the man who had beaten his son)? It was a show about how faith can help you wrestle with difficult issues and situations. I like to think that my minister talks to Jesus every day (I try to) - and I liked the episode where Daniel despaired when he thought he had lost his personal connection with Jesus. And the episode where Jesus looked on sorrowfully during the beating, with the voice over of the 23rd Psalm was very powerful. (I think Quinn was at the very top of his game in this series, showing both a deft comic touch and emotional, dramatic acting.)

I am enjoying this exchange of views with you, Lee.

jct, I've definitely heard good things about "At Play...." and I know we talked about it in seminary when discussing mission work and being sensitive to cultural issues. It's on my list, for sure.

"All My Sons" just floored me when I saw it because of Quinn's age. He has a great command of his craft even as a young man.

Another one I need to get (on the list) is "An Early Frost". I've never seen it (nor, amazingly, "Desperately Seeking Susan") but am catching up as I grow the DVD collection. I loved "Reckless" then and now!

"A Private Matter" made me shiver for a number of reasons. Quinn did a great job of portraying a man who is honorable, loving, caring and also a product of his time (reminded me a lot of my dad).

I hope "Motor City" is a good fit for Aidan. He's a quiet guy but I hate to see him fall victim to the "older Hollywood actor" thing. I'll take great talent coupled with classic looks over anything Hollywood puts out these days.

I was able to track down "All My Sons" (American Playhouse series) which also starred James Whitmore and Michael Learned. A wonderful production. Quinn was very young when he did this, and it was obvious how good an actor he already was. Lee, as a pastor, you should also see if you can get (videotape only, unfortunately) "At Play in the Fields of the Lord", with Quinn as the sincere naive missionary who deeply cares about the indigenous peoples of Amazonia, and about the effects of development and missionary activity on their culture. I have seen "A Private Matter" - Quinn was courageous in taking on hot button issues such as abortion and AIDs (Early Frost).

I also admire Aidan Quinn -- he was and still is one of my favorite actors. I loved "Book of Daniel" and was sorry it was canceled. I live in hope that the cast can reunite somewhere else (say HBO, where shows don't tend to be canceled because of hysterical people). As a pastor, I thought there was much that hit home in that series. :) Also thought that Susanna Thompson and Quinn were fabulous together, I'd love to see them in something else, too.

I'll be checking out "Motor City." I wasn't keen on "Canterbury's Law," so live in hope on this one. Quinn is a remarkable actor but is not always given the best scripts. For now, I also will keep checking out Amazon for Quinn's work. It's well worth it. Recommendation: "A Private Matter" and (if you can find a copy), "All My Sons" (teleplay from the 80s). Am looking forward to seeing some of the earlier 80s stuff. This actor is quiet gold!

I greatly admire Aidan Quinn as an actor and as a man. I am very much looking forward to seeing "Motor City" - how can you not be when it combines Shakespeare and Quinn, and the other actors listed? You should get the DVD of the entire 7 episodes of "The Book of Daniel" - unjustly cancelled before all episodes were able to run and a very good show which had the potential of becoming a truly great show if allowed to develop. Aidan Quinn and Susannah Thompson, who played his wife, were very, very good in it. You can get DVDs of a lot of Quinn's work from Amazon. (I also had the privilege of seeing Quinn live on stage in March 2008 in a play, "Conversations in Tusculum", at the New York Public Theater; he played Marcus Brutus and Brian Dennehy played Cicero. Quinn has terrific stage presence and a wonderfully expressive speaking voice.)