Aidan Quinn just can't seem to
get the girl.
In Legends Of The Fall, he lost Julia Ormond to Brad Pitt and Henry Thomas. In Michael
Collins, he loses Julia Roberts to Liam Neeson.
"I don't mind losing the girls in movies because in real life I got the girl,"
says Quinn, who's married to actress Elizabeth Bracco, sister of Lorraine Bracco.
"Elizabeth and I have been together for 12 years and have been married for
nine."
The couple has a seven-year-old daughter.
Quinn admits he's a romantic at heart so it would be simple for him "to fall in love
every day.
"In the movie business, the opportunities to have an affair are even greater than for
most people. You have to make the decision not to be tempted.
"Years ago, I realized a wonderful marriage is worth far more than a brief affair --
no matter how exciting it may be."
Quinn admits his wife has presented him with an even greater deterrent to committing
adultery.
"Elizabeth has told me if I try it once, I won't have the wherewithalls to try it
again, and I believe she means it."
Quinn says this is why he puts such emotion into his screen kisses.
"It's the only fun you can have when you're married."
In Michael Collins, Quinn plays Harry Boland, a young Irishman who helped revolutionary
Michael Collins (Neeson) in his battle for a free Irish republic.
The two men also became rivals for the love of Kitty Kiernan (Roberts).
"Making Michael Collins in Ireland brought me back to my roots. I literally come from
an Irish American family," explains Quinn.
"My parents emigrated from Ireland, but when my father felt he couldn't support his
family properly, he sent us back to Ireland for awhile.
"We then came back to live in Chicago.
"My older brother and sister were raised almost exclusively in Ireland.
"I also have two younger brothers who were raised exclusively in America.
"I think my being such a nomad let me into acting. I was always having to create a
new image whenever we moved."
Quinn and two of his brothers -- cinematographer Declan Quinn and screenwriter Paul Quinn
-- are headed for Ireland early next year to film This Is My Father.
"It's the story of a man's search for his father's history. I'll play the father in
flashbacks and direct. It's a semi-autobiographical journey for all three of us."
Two years ago, Quinn moved his family from Chicago to a home in the country.
"I'm not a city kind of guy. I'm happiest when I'm tromping through the woods. That's
why I don't live in Los Angeles. Being physically away from Hollywood probably loses me a
few jobs, but the best ones seek me out."
Quinn has already wrapped two more films since he completed Michael Collins last year. He
stars opposite Ben Kingsley in the spy thriller Jackal and in the black comedy
Commandments with Courteney Cox and Anthony Lapaglia.
Taken from the Canoe.ca website |