- Name: Aidan Quinn
- Date of Birth: March 08, 1959
- Place of Birth: Rockford, Illinois, USA
Mini-bio:
A leading actor of the stage and screen, Aidan Quinn specializes in portraying sensitive, intelligent characters. Easily recognizable thanks to his platitude-inspiring baby blues and classically hands... read more
Aidan Quinn Wiki Profile
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Born in Chicago on 8 March 1959, Aidan Quinn spent most of the first two decades of his life living on both sides of the Atlantic; his parents - his dad a literature professor, his mum a housewife - had emigrated from Ireland to the States in the 1950s, where Aidan, as well as his sister and three brothers were born. Artistic blood obviously runs in the family, with his older brother Declan having made a name for himself as cinematographer in films such as Leaving Las Vegas and Vanya On 42nd Street, younger sister Marian working as an actress, and younger brother Paul having recently ventured into the world of writing/directing for their joint family effort This Is My Father in addition to working as an actor. Only one of the five siblings, another younger brother, James, hasstayed away from the limelight and is making a living as a landscaper in LA.Aidan was barely a toddler when the family went back to his parents' hometown of Birr, Co. Offaly in Ireland where he started pre-school, only to return to Illinois about a year and a half later. At the age of 13, Aidan and his family returned to Birr yet again, but Aidan soon left to go to school in Dublin, where he stayed for a year before returning to Rockford, Illinois, Chicago and then back to Dublin. "We got used to living in two different cultures and being able to go back and forth", he once said in an interview. "With Declan, Marian and myself it's always back and forth, Irish-American, American-Irish…". This being caught between two cultures has contributed a fair deal to the feeling of closeness in the Quinn family.Although a roofer by trade, Aidan discovered hislove for acting around 1978 when he was about 19 and living in Dublin.
Once the decision was made and it became obvious that work wasn't so easy to come by in Ireland, he returned to Chicago, where he made his stage debut in The Man in 605. Some of his early stage experience includes plays such as Scheherazade and The Irish Hebrew Lesson. Moving on to New York, he made his stage debut there in a production of Fool for Love, followed by roles in A Lie of the Mind as well as the title role in a modern-day Hamlet directed by Robert Falls.In 1984 he made his cinema debut starring opposite Daryl Hannah in Reckless. His breakthrough however came a year later in the role of Dez alongside Rosanna Arquette and Madonna in Desperately Seeking Susan. He also starred in several television productions, including The Lies of The Twins opposite Isabella Rossellini (a double dose of Aidan - excellent!) and the NBC drama An Early Frost, the latter being the first film addressing the issue of AIDS & HIV. His portrayal of a gay man in this film earned him an Emmy nomination.Aidan has shown his versatility and talent as an actor by playing a wide range of roles, from heart throb/good guy in films such as Avalon, Desperately Seeking Susan and Benny & Joon, through to gay man in An Early Frost, missionary in At Play In The Fields Of The Lord and one of the world's most wanted terrorists in The Assignment.Although having starred alongside "big" names such as Anthony Hopkins, Ben Kingsley, Liam Neeson, Donald Sutherland, Johnny Depp, Madeleine Stowe, Sandra Bullock, Brad Pitt, and Robert DeNiro, and in some "big" films such as Legends of The Fall and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, The Mission and Michael Collins he has managed to keep a fairly low profile. This is not something he's unhappy about, since he likes to keep his private life private.
| Aidan Quinn Information |
| Full Name: Aidan T Quinn |
| Eye color: Blue. |
| Height: 5' 11½" (1.82 m) |
| Notable feature(s): His Eyes (His big blue eyes helped viewers see into the "soul" of his Characters. |
| Education: Graduated from Rockford West High School in Rockford, Illinois. Graduated from the prestigous DePaul University / Goodman Theater B.F.A. acting program. |
| Family: Brother: Declan Quinn filmed "Leaving Las Vegas" (1995) and "This Is My Father" (1998) Brother: James Quinn Younger Brother: Paul Quinn Born c. 1960; helmed "This Is My Father" (1998) starring Aidan Sister: Marian Quinn Younger Sister In-Law: Lorraine Bracco Best known for her roles as Karen Hill in "Goodfellas" (1990) and Dr. Jennifer Melfi on the hit HBO series, "The Sopranos" 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.’” |
| Awards: Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 8 nominations |
| Resides in: |
| Religious affiliations: Roman Catholic |
| Political affiliation: |
| Personal interests/hobbies: |
 BEVERLY HILLS, CA - JULY 25: Actor Aidan Quinn attends the panel discussion for 'Book Of Daniel' during the NBC 2005 Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on July 25, 2005 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images) |
| On the Movie The Assignment:
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| Did you know ? The Quinn family's 2nd home is a 18th century cottage in upstate New York. Aidan decided that he wanted to be an actor in 1978. He was 19 years old and living in Ireland at that point. It was hard getting acting jobs in Ireland, so he moved to Chicago US. In 2000, Aidan & co. won the Special Jury Prize for outstanding ensemble performance - Dramatic at the Sundance Film Festival for: Songcatcher (2000). Aidan was born on same day as Lucie Vondrackova. Aidan auditioned at least twice for the Coen Bros. without being hired, so from then on, he said he refuses their audition requests. Aidan is a Member of the world renowned Goodman Theater Acting Company in Chicago, Illinois. After portraying Paul McCartney in a television movie, Aidan met Paul by chance while staying at the same hotel and they have since became friends. Was Paramount's choice to play Jesus Christ in their production of The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) before a storm of controversy forced them to cancel their plans for the movie. Soon after, Universal picked up the movie with Willem Dafoe playing Christ. He was seriously considered for the lead role of Jake Brigance in A Time to Kill but the role went to Matthew McConaughey instead. Aidan was listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1986" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 38. |
