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Golden Globe nominated actor Dennis Quaid is known for his undeniable charisma on and off screen. Through the years, Quaid’s signature has become his famous one of a kind smile that captures the heart of his audience. Not at all a stranger to dramatic sports roles, casting executives knew Dennis Quaid was a perfect match for their upcoming football project.
The excitement builds as Dennis’ helicopter is seen landing across the street from the Atlanta Falcons training camp, in a baseball field. Atlanta is a city well known for its roots in football history, so it seemed only right for the Atlanta Falcons training camp to be a stop on Dennis Quaid’s twelve city tour to promote his new film “The Express: The Ernie Davis Story”. The movie is based on the true story of Davis, the college football hero and first African-American to win the Heisman trophy. Quaid plays Ben Schwartzwalder, Davis’ hard-nosed coach who’s obsessed with winning a national championship for Syracuse University. Though Schwartzwalder may have had a rough exterior, he was also like a father to Davis and guided him through the disturbing racial climate of the late 1950's.
Metromix caught up with Dennis Quaid out on the training field as he got a few pointers from Falcons Head Coach Mike Smith and tossed around the ball with a few of the players.
What is the most important lesson that can be learned by Ernie Davis’ life? How he lived his life with grace. He really had that, he wasn’t a big talker, he talked (through) his deeds really. He touched everyone around him in a very positive way. The movie really is about (how) Ernie’s grandfather had him read at the kitchen table to get over his stuttering, 1 Corinthians 15:10, “I am what I am because of God’s grace and may God’s graces bestowed upon me not be without effect” and he certainly embodied that in his life.
Now you play Ben Schwartzwalder in the movie. What do you think made Ben such a great coach? He was obsessed, obsessed to a fault. He was one of the boys who stormed the beach in Normandy in World War II and he brought that military background into his coaching. He was also just obsessive and he had a really good eye for talent. He actively recruited and he had that one magic season where they won in 1959 a national championship.
Do you think the successes of Ernie Davis transformed football today? Well, I think he’s certainly notable and certainly one of the greats. Being a person who never got a chance to play a game of professional football because he was diagnosed with leukemia, (he) died before he got his chance.
So why do you think Atlanta was chosen as a stop on “The Express” promotional tour list? We are going on a 12 city, 11 day tour. So, we’re trying to incorporate football wherever we can.
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