Aidan Quinn (born March 8, 1959) is an American actor.

Biography

Early life

Quinn was born in Rockford, Illinois to devoutly Catholic Irish parents.Aidan Quinn Biography - Biography.com He was raised in Chicago and Rockford, as well as in Dublin and Birr, County Offaly 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.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. In meantime, Quinn recited in a role as protagonist in the film Crusoe, finished in 1989.

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, Robert Duvall in The Handmaid's Tale and Sir John Gielgud in Haunted. He continually starred in films that allowed him to return to his Irish roots, such as Michael Collins, Song for a Raggy Boy 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.The Mighty Quinn The other has been confirmed to appear as a ghost in The Eclipse.

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1984	Reckless	Johnny Rourke
1985	Desperately Seeking Susan	Dez
1986	The Mission	Felipe Mendoza
1987	Stakeout	Richard 'Stick' Montgomery
1989	Crusoe	Crusoe
1990	The Handmaid's Tale	Nick
	The Lemon Sisters	Frankie McGuinness
	Avalon	Jules Kaye
1991	At Play in the Fields of the Lord	Martin Quarrier
1992	The Playboys	Tom Casey
1993	Benny & Joon	Benjamin 'Benny' Pearl
1994	Blink	Det. John Hallstrom
	Mary Shelley's Frankenstein	Capt. Robert Walton
	Legends of the Fall	Alfred Ludlow
1995	The Stars Fell on Henrietta	Don Day
	Haunted	Prof. David Ash
1996	Looking for Richard	Richmond
	Michael Collins	Harry Boland
1997	Commandments	Seth Warner
	The Assignment	Lt. Cmdr. Annibal Ramirez/Carlos
1998	This Is My Father	Kieran O'Day
	Practical Magic	Officer Gary Hallet	Blockbuster Entertainment Award (nominated)
1999	In Dreams	Paul Cooper
	Music of the Heart	Brian Turner
2000	Songcatcher	Tom Bledsoe	Sundance Film Festival Award (won)
2002	Stolen Summer	Joe O'Malley
	Evelyn	Nick Barron
2003	Song for a Raggy Boy	William Franklin
2004	Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius	Harry Vardon
	Shadow of Fear	Detective Scofield
	Return to Sender	Frank Nitzche	IFTA Awards (nominated-4Xs)
	Proud	Commodore Alfred Lind
2005	Nine Lives	Henry	Gotham Awards (nominated)
2007	Dark Matter	Reiser
	32A	Frank Brennan
2008	Wild Child	Gerry
2009	A Shine of Rainbows	Alec
	The Eclipse	Nicholas Holden
	The 5th Quarter	Steven Abbate
	Handsome Harry	Porter

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	An Early Frost	Michael Pierson	NBC TV-Movie

Emmy Award (nominated)
1986All My SonsChris KellerTV-Movie 1989Perfect WitnessSam PaxtonHBO TV-Movie 1991Lies of the TwinsJames McEwan/Jonathan McEwanTV-Movie 1992A Private MatterBob FinkbineHBO TV-Movie 1997Forbidden Territory: Stanley's Search for LivingstoneHenry Morton StanleyTV-Movie 2000See You in My DreamsJoe F. BrownTV-Movie The Prince and the PauperMiles HendonTV-Movie Two of UsPaul McCartneyVH1 TV-Movie 2001Night VisionsJeremy BellEpisode: The Passenger List 2003Benedict Arnold: A Question of HonorGen. Benedict ArnoldA&E TV-Movie 2004PlainsongTom GuthrieCBS TV-Movie CavedwellerClint WindsorShowtime Network TV-Movie Independent Spirit Award (nominated)
Miracle RunDouglas ThomasLifetime Movie Network TV-Movie 2005The ExoneratedKerryCourtTV TV-Movie Empire FallsDavid RobyHBO Miniseries MaydayJohn BerryCBS TV-Movie 2004 - 2005Third WatchLieutenant John MillerEpisode: Alone Again, Naturally
Episode: Last Will and Testament
Episode: The Hunter, Hunted
Episode: The Greatest Detectives
Episode: Goodbye to Camelot 2006The Book of DanielDaniel Webster 2007Bury My Heart at Wounded KneeHenry L. DawesHBO TV-Movie Emmy Award (nominated)
Law & Order: Special Victims UnitBen NicholsonEpisode: Savant 2008Canterbury's LawMatthew "Matt" Furey