# Aidan Quinn

Aidan Quinn (born March 8, 1959) is an American actor. He made his film debut in Reckless (1984), and has starred in over 80 feature films, including Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), The Mission (1986), Stakeout (1987), All My Sons (1987), Avalon (1990), Benny & Joon (1993), Legends of the Fall (1994), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), Michael Collins (1996), Practical Magic (1998), Song for a Raggy Boy (2003), Wild Child (2008) and Unknown (2011). He also played Captain Thomas "Tommy" Gregson on the CBS television series Elementary (2012–19).
Quinn has received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his performances in the television films An Early Frost (1985) and Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007). Highly active in Irish cinema as well as in the United States, Quinn is a four-time Irish Film and Television (IFTA) Award nominee, winning Best Supporting Actor in a Film for the Conor McPherson film The Eclipse (2009).

## Early life

Quinn was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Irish Catholic parents. He was raised in Chicago and Rockford, Illinois, as well as in Dublin and Birr, County Offaly, Ireland. His mother, Teresa, was a homemaker, but also worked as a bookkeeper and in the travel business, and his father, Michael Quinn, was a professor of English literature at Rock Valley College. When he was nineteen and working as a roofer, Quinn realized he wanted to become an actor. He trained at the Piven Theatre Workshop.
He has three brothers and a sister. His older brother, Declan Quinn, is a cinematographer, and his younger sister, Marian, is an actress, director and writer. His brother Paul, an actor and director, died in 2015 at the age of 55.

## 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 television film An Early Frost, about a young gay lawyer dying of AIDS (it was broadcast on NBC on November 11, 1985, and co-starred Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara and Sylvia Sidney). He received his first Emmy Award nomination for the role. He made a short, well received contribution as Robert De Niro's brother in The Mission. He played escaped convict Richard "Stick" Montgomery in the action comedy Stakeout opposite Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez.
In 1988, Quinn lost the role of Jesus Christ when Paramount Pictures dropped the distribution rights to the Martin Scorsese movie The Last Temptation of Christ. When Universal Pictures picked up the film, the role went to Willem Dafoe. In the meantime, Quinn starred as the protagonist in the film Crusoe, finished in 1989.
During the 1990s, he appeared in Legends of the Fall, Benny & Joon, The Handmaid's Tale, Haunted and Practical Magic. He also starred in Michael Collins, Song for a Raggy Boy, This Is My Father, and Evelyn. He had a cameo appearance as the captain of a doomed Arctic vessel in the Francis Ford Coppola-produced adaptation of Frankenstein.
In 2000, Quinn portrayed Paul McCartney in the VH1 television drama Two of Us.
Quinn played Kerry Max Cook in the 2005 movie The Exonerated, a true story about people on death row who had been freed.
Quinn played the main character on the NBC drama The Book of Daniel in 2006. After the first three weeks of its run, the show was canceled, and its last five episodes never aired. In 2007, Quinn received his second Emmy nomination for the television movie Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.
In 2010, he played a cameo role as William Rainsferd in the French-made film Sarah's Key, set during World War II.
He starred as Dermot opposite Taylor Schilling (Abby) in the Canadian-Irish drama film Stay (2013).
Quinn co-starred in the CBS Television series Elementary.

## Personal life

In 1987, Quinn married his Stakeout co-star Elizabeth Bracco (sister of actress Lorraine Bracco). They have two daughters: Mia (b. 1998) and Ava Eileen (b. 1989), who has autism. Ava appeared as the baby "David" in Avalon, and Mia played a ghost in The Eclipse. He has controversially suggested that the MMR vaccine led to his daughter's autism diagnosis. Former residents of Englewood, New Jersey, Quinn and his family now live in Palisades, Rockland County, New York, and Marbletown in the Catskills / Woodstock region of Ulster County, New York.
As an avid sports fan, Quinn supports the Chicago Cubs, the Green Bay Packers, Michael Jordan, Rory McIlroy, and Roger Federer.
Quinn is also an outspoken critic of Donald Trump.

## Philanthropy

Quinn has participated in charity golf events for the East Lake Foundation, a community redevelopment program, and Samuel L. Jackson's "One for the Boys" campaign about testicular cancer awareness. In 2010, Quinn attended a premiere benefit screening of A Shine of Rainbows for the International Children's Media Center (ICMC) and The American Ireland Fund (AIF). In 1991, he read a segment from Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis as part of MTV's "Books: Feed Your Head" literacy promotion PSAs.
Quinn spoke at the 2003 "Night of Too Many Stars" gala benefiting The Autism Coalition. He was an honorary board member of the National Alliance for Autism Research (NAAR), which merged with Autism Speaks.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1982 | My Favorite Year behind Bologna 1/2 hour in | |
| 1984 | Reckless | Johnny Rourke | |
| 1985 | Desperately Seeking Susan | Dez | |
| 1985 | An Early Frost | Michael Pierson |
| 1986 | The Mission | Felipe Mendoza | |
| 1987 | Stakeout | Richard 'Stick' Montgomery | |
| 1989 | Crusoe | Crusoe | |
| 1990 | The Handmaid's Tale | Nick | |
| 1990 | The Lemon Sisters | Frankie McGuinness | |
| 1990 | 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 | |
| 1994 | Mary Shelley's Frankenstein | Cpt. Robert Walton | |
| 1994 | Legends of the Fall | Alfred Ludlow | |
| 1995 | The Stars Fell on Henrietta | Don Day | |
| 1995 | Haunted | Prof. David Ash | |
| 1995 | Lumière and Company | Himself | Short film: "John Boorman" |
| 1996 | Looking for Richard | Richmond | |
| 1996 | Michael Collins | Harry Boland | |
| 1997 | Commandments | Seth Warner | |
| 1997 | The Assignment | Lt. Cmdr. Annibal Ramirez / Carlos | |
| 1998 | This Is My Father | Kieran O'Day | Also executive producer |
| 1998 | Practical Magic | Officer Gary Hallet | |
| 1999 | In Dreams | Paul Cooper | |
| 1999 | Music of the Heart | Brian Turner | |
| 2000 | Songcatcher | Tom Bledsoe | |
| 2002 | Stolen Summer | Joe O'Malley | ' |
| 2002 | Evelyn | Nick Barron | |
| 2003 | Song for a Raggy Boy | William Franklin | |
| 2004 | Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius | Harry Vardon | |
| 2004 | Shadow of Fear | Detective Scofield | |
| 2004 | Return to Sender | Frank Nitzche | |
| 2004 | Proud | Commodore Alfred Lind | |
| 2005 | Nine Lives | Henry | |
| 2007 | Dark Matter | Prof. Jacob Reiser | |
| 2007 | 32A | Frank Brennan | |
| 2008 | Wild Child | Gerry Moore | |
| 2009 | A Shine of Rainbows | Alec O'Donnell | |
| 2009 | The Eclipse | Nicholas Holden | |
| 2009 | Handsome Harry | Prof. Porter | |
| 2010 | Flipped | Richard Baker | |
| 2010 | Festival of Lights | Adem | |
| 2010 | Jonah Hex | President Ulysses S. Grant | |
| 2010 | Sarah's Key | William Rainsferd | |
| 2010 | Across the Line: The Exodus of Charlie Wright | Charlie Wright | |
| 2010 | The 5th Quarter | Steven Abbate | |
| 2010 | The Pilgrims: The Journey to a New World for Autism | Himself | Documentary |
| 2011 | Unknown | Martin B. | |
| 2011 | The Stand Up | Sandy Hardwick | |
| 2011 | The Greening of Whitney Brown | Henry Brown | |
| 2011 | Muide Éire | Himself | Documentary |
| 2012 | If I Were You | Derek | |
| 2012 | Allegiance | Lieutenant Colonel Owens | |
| 2013 | The Last Keepers | John Carver | |
| 2013 | Rushlights | Cameron Brogden | |
| 2013 | Stay | Dermot Fay | |
| 2014 | Journey to Sundance | Himself | Documentary |
| 2018 | Change in the Air | Moody | |
| 2021 | Spiked | John Wilson | |
| 2022 | Blacklight | Gabriel Robinson | |
| 2023 | Daughter of the Bride | Bruce | |
| TBA | Cry from the Sea | TBA | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1981 | American Dream | Scooter | Episode: "Casey's Romance" |
| 1985 | An Early Frost | Michael Pierson | Television movie |
| 1987 | All My Sons | Chris Keller | Television movie |
| 1989 | Perfect Witness | Sam Paxton | Television movie |
| 1991 | Lies of the Twins | James McEwen/Jonathan McEwan | Television movie |
| 1992 | A Private Matter | Bob Finkbine | Television movie |
| 1994 | Baseball | Himself/Various | 2 episodes |
| 1995 | The Irish in America | Narrator | TV movie |
| 1995 | Out of Ireland: The Story of Irish Emigration to America | Narrator | TV movie |
| 1997 | Forbidden Territory: Stanley's Search for Livingstone | Henry Morton Stanley | TV movie |
| 2000 | The Prince and the Pauper | Miles Hendon | TV movie |
| 2000 | Two of Us | Paul McCartney | TV movie |
| 2000 | The Young Messiah | Narrator | Voice; TV movie |
| 2001 | Night Visions | Jeremy Bell | Episode: "The Passenger List" |
| 2003 | Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor | Gen. Benedict Arnold | TV movie |
| 2003 | Freedom: A History of US | Mob Member/Philadelphia Press Editorial | 2 episodes |
| 2004 | See You in My Dreams | Joe F. Brown | TV movie |
| 2004 | Plainsong | Tom Guthrie | TV movie |
| 2004 | Cavedweller | Clint Windsor | TV movie |
| 2004 | Miracle Run | Douglas Thomas | TV movie |
| 2004–2005 | Third Watch | Lieutenant/Captain John Miller | 5 episodes |
| 2005 | The Exonerated | Kerry Max Cook | TV movie |
| 2005 | Empire Falls | David Roby | 2 episodes |
| 2005 | Mayday | John Berry | TV movie |
| 2006 | The Book of Daniel | Daniel Webster | 8 episodes |
| 2007 | Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee | Henry L. Dawes | TV movie |
| 2007 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Ben Nicholson | Episode: "Savant" |
| 2008 | Canterbury's Law | Matthew 'Matt' Furey | 5 episodes |
| 2008 | The Prince of Motor City | Charlie Hamilton | Pilot |
| 2010 | White Collar | Prof. George Oswald | Episode: "Copycat Caffrey" |
| 2011 | Weeds | Foster 'Chuck' Klein | 4 episodes |
| 2011 | Prime Suspect | Lt. Kevin Sweeney | Recurring role |
| 2012 | The Horses of McBride | Matt Davidson | TV movie |
| 2012–2019 | Elementary | Captain Thomas 'Tommy' Gregson | Main role |
| 2014 | From Tee to Green: The Story of Irish Golf | Narrator | Voice; 3 episodes |
| 2019 | The American Guest | Theodore Roosevelt | Main role |
| 2021-2022 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Burton Lowe | Episodes: "The Five Hundredth Episode" & "Confess Your Sins to be Free" |
| 2024 | Blue Bloods | Detective Gus Vanderlip | Episode: "The Heart of a Saturday Night" |
| TBA | The Walsh Sisters | Jack Walsh | Upcoming comedy drama series |

### Theatre

| Year | Production | Role | Venue |
| 1979 | The Man in 605 | Jerry Green | Piven Theatre Workshop |
| | Scheherazade | | Chicago |
| | The Irish Hebrew Lesson | | Chicago |
| 1984 | Fool for Love | Eddie | Douglas Fairbanks Theater |
| 1985 | Hamlet | Prince Hamlet | Wisdom Bridge Theatre |
| 1985–1986 | A Lie of the Mind | Frankie | Promenade Theatre |
| 1988 | A Streetcar Named Desire | Stanley Kowalski | Circle in the Square Theatre |
| 2003 | The Exonerated | Kerry Max Cook | 45 Bleecker Theater Curran Theatre |
| 2004 | Trumbo: Red, White and Blacklisted | Dalton Trumbo | Westside Theatre |
| 2005 | The Exonerated | Kerry Max Cook | Queen's Hall |
| 2006 | The Exonerated | Kerry Max Cook | Riverside Studios Dublin Theatre Festival |
| 2008 | Conversations in Tusculum | Brutus | The Public Theater |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Work | Result |
| 1986 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Special | An Early Frost | Nominated |
| 1988 | Theatre World Award | A Streetcar Named Desire | Won |
| 1993 | CableACE Award for Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries | A Private Matter | Nominated |
| 1999 | Irish Film and Television Award for Best Actor in a Male Role | This Is My Father | Nominated |
| 1999 | Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor – Comedy / Romance | Practical Magic | Nominated |
| 2000 | Sundance Film Festival – Special Jury Prize For Ensemble Cast (shared with cast) | Songcatcher | Won |
| 2003 | Irish Film & Television Award (IFTA) for Best Actor in a Film – Public Vote | — | Nominated |
| 2003 | Irish Film & Television Award (IFTA) for Best Actor in a Film – Jury Award | Song for a Raggy Boy | Nominated |
| 2005 | Irish Film & Television Award (IFTA) for Best Actor in a Feature Film | Return to Sender (aka Convicted) | Nominated |
| 2005 | Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male | Cavedweller | Nominated |
| 2005 | Gotham Award for Best Ensemble Cast (shared with cast) | Nine Lives | Nominated |
| 2007 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie | Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee | Nominated |
| 2007 | Online Film & Television Association (OFTA) Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee | Nominated |
| 2007 | Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television | Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee | Nominated |
| 2010 | Irish Film & Television Award (IFTA) for Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Film | The Eclipse | Won |