Dennis Quaid on past cocaine addiction: ‘I saw myself either dead or in jail’

Dennis Quaid was on the verge of hitting rock bottom amid his cocaine addiction 30 years ago.

“I remember going home and having kind of a white light experience that I saw myself either dead or in jail or losing everything I had, and I didn’t want that,” the “Parent Trap” star told People for this week’s cover story, published Wednesday.

Quaid, now 69, said his struggles had become so bad that his band got a record deal, but they broke up because he was “not reliable.”

An old photo of Dennis Quaid.
The movie star said he saw himself “dead or in jail or losing everything [he] had.”
Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

This is not the first time the movie star has opened up about his dark past.

In 2018, he revealed he used up to two grams of coke a day during the 1980s when his career was on the rise.

“I liked coke. I liked it to go out,” he told the Sunday Times.

Seven years prior to that admission, the “Great Balls of Fire!” star alleged that cocaine was actually factored into movie budgets and used as “petty cash” in Tinseltown.

A young Dennis Quaid with a mustache.
Quaid’s addiction issues peaked in the 1980s.
MediaPunch via Getty Images

However, Quaid decided to go to rehab — or as he reportedly calls it “cocaine school”– in 1990 to overcome his substance abuse issues.

When he got out, the “On a Wing and a Prayer” star turned to his faith to “fill that hole” that is left when an addict is “done with addiction.”


For more Page Six you love …


“That’s when I started developing a personal relationship,” he told People in his new interview. “Before that, I didn’t have one, even though I grew up as a Christian.”

Quaid began reading the Bible, the Quran, other religious texts and even wrote the faith-based song “On My Way to Heaven” in 1990 following his newfound spirituality.

Dennis Quaid.
Quaid turned to religion and his faith after he got out of rehab.
Getty Images

The track was also a song for his mother, Juanita Jordan, to “let her know I was OK, because I wasn’t OK before then.”

“I’m grateful to still be here, I’m grateful to be alive really every day,” Quaid also said, reflecting on his past struggles.

“It’s important to really enjoy your ride in life as much as you can, because there’s a lot of challenges and stuff to knock it down.”

You May Also Like

‘White Lotus’ scrapped sex scene between two unlikely characters in Season 3 finale: ‘Very disappointing’

“The White Lotus” scrapped an unexpected sex scene between Sarah Catherine Hook…

Lindsay Lohan’s wildest sex confessions from rating A-list stars in bed to story ‘so graphic’ it put co-stars off dinner

LINDSAY Lohan is back on top form after bagging a host of…

Blake Lively finally reaches out to Taylor Swift after dragging her into ‘It Ends With Us’ legal drama — here’s where they stand now

Blake Lively has apologized to Taylor Swift for dragging the pop star…

Meghan Markle Gets Slammed for As Ever Product Error: ‘Incredibly Embarrassing’

Meghan Markle’s As Ever brand is finally here. With it, comes some…