Dennis Quaid thrills locals in Dixon, Ill., for 'Reagan' premiere, says Hollywood 'forgot' about small towns

DIXON, Ill.– Movie star Dennis Quaid is still blown away by the humility of the 40th president he portrays onscreen in the new biopic "Reagan."

"Humble is the description because that's how I felt when I came into the gate of the Western White House," Quaid told Fox News Digital last week. "He was a humble man." 

Speaking on the front porch of Ronald Reagan's boyhood home in Dixon, Ill., Quaid discussed the impact he has had on his life, and how the former actor-turned-politician would fit into today's caustic political scene. Before meeting the locals who still admire the late president, Quaid also suggested that Hollywood has become disconnected from the small towns that produce stars, lamenting the industry "seems to have forgotten these hometown values."

The actor found Reagan's humble roots at 816 S. Hennepin Ave., the house where Reagan grew up in the 1920s. Young America's Foundation stepped in as caretaker of the property in 2020, which had previously been managed and cared for by the Ronald Reagan Home Preservation Foundation since 1980. 

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Dennis Quaid and Penelope Ann Miller in character as Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan for the movie "Reagan." (Rob Batzdorff/Rawhide Pictures)

"You come here, and it's a beautiful house actually," Quaid said after going on a tour of Reagan's boyhood home. "This architecture is the example of that period of America. The whole town reminds me of, ‘It’s a Wonderful Life' in a way. You can really feel those values."

Dixon is also home to Lowell Park, where Reagan worked over the course of seven summers as a lifeguard for the swimming section of Rock River and reportedly saved 77 lives. He kept track by cutting a notch in a log near the river.

Quaid also had the opportunity to witness the late president's humility while filming parts of "Reagan" at Rancho del Cielo, Ronald and Nancy Reagan's home away from home just northwest of Santa Barbara, Calif. YAF has preserved and protected the ranch since 1998.

"You could just feel it in his deeds and in the places where he dwelled," Quaid said. "He mowed all that grass, he really worked along those fences and dug that pond himself."

One particular anecdote Quaid enjoyed sharing was the couple's sleeping conditions.

"It was 1,100 square feet, maybe. They had a king-size bed, but it was two single beds that were zip-tied together," he laughed.

Quaid made his way to The Dixon: Historic Theatre following his tour at the boyhood home to greet fans at the "Reagan" movie premiere. Reagan once premiered one of his own films at The Dixon. 

Locals were thrilled a movie star touched down in their neighborhood, with one fan yelling, "Thank you for coming to our small town," while Quaid was working the red carpet. Another woman exclaimed, "This is a lot of excitement for a small town!" 

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Quaid was asked if he thought more of Hollywood should venture into small town America.

"Well, there are so many people in Hollywood that are from places like this," he answered. "And, you know, there's a lot of great people in Hollywood too. There's a lot of churches in Hollywood, and you know where to find them. I think Hollywood has created its own rap since the movies it makes or whatever, but it seems to have forgotten these hometown values."

"I feel like Hollywood today - they lost their audience, and they're trying to find them," he added. 

Statue of Ronald Reagan at the late president's boyhood home in Dixon, Illinois. (Fox News)

Some locals explained that the bright lights and celebrity weren't the only thing that brought them out to the premiere, gushing about the other man of the hour.

"I’m very excited to see the movie," Becky Anderson from Rock Falls, Ill., told Fox News Digital ahead of viewing "Reagan." "Growing up in this area, living in Rock Falls between his birthplace and his boyhood home, he’s always been my favorite president."

Another woman, Sara Ortgiesen from Dixon, who said she marched in Reagan’s inaugural parade, appreciated Reagan’s "integrity" and "morals" and conservatism.

"He was able to get along with people who maybe didn’t agree, could agree to disagree, kind of get along that way," she told Fox Digital.

Plenty of other attendees also commended Reagan for his morals, saying they'd like to see those qualities on the 2024 campaign trail too.

"Some honesty would be good," one local man told Fox Digital. "And he was really funny. I loved his jokes."

Fans flocked to the premiere of "Reagan" in Dixon. Ill. (Fox News Digital/Cortney O'Brien)

Others appreciated his storytelling skills.

"I like the fact that he could tell a great story," one man said. "He was honest. Integrity. He could make a good point using a humorous story."

"He was just a hometown boy," another local shared. "He wasn’t affected by California. He kept coming back to Dixon." 

Playing Reagan, Quaid said, just "enhanced" the impression he already had of the former president.

"He really was who he was," Quaid said. "There wasn't a lot of artifice to him. He really knew how to communicate well, he knew how to speak well. His ideas were American ideals. And they were principles, actually. That's how he governed and that's how he lived his life."

President Ronald Reagan, with wife Nancy, waves to the White House staff as he arrives back after spending 13 days in the hospital following the assassination attempt.  (Getty Images)

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One refrain Reagan particularly liked to communicate was his fight against communism.

Former President Trump recently slammed Vice President Kamala Harris' plan to ban price gouging as "socialist," throwing in a new nickname for her, Comrade Kamala. Quaid weighed in on what he thought Reagan would say about Harris' economic agenda.

"Well, as far as price controls, I know Reagan wouldn't have gone for that, because he believed in free market. It'll find its own way," Quaid said. 

"Reagan won the Cold War," the actor said. "Reagan also testified communists are trying to take over the unions in Hollywood, not just the actors union, but the set builders union and cameras union and writers, everything and make it all one thing. And they had to go through the actors union first of course that was the hardest."

"And Reagan fought that at the time," he continued. "And when he testified before Congress, he said that we ought to, as a nation, just go ahead and allow the communist party to come into the country and let them say their ideas and everything else because democracy can handle it. And it would sort itself out. Because people would see the common sense in things. He believed in common sense."

Dennis Quaid in character as Ronald Reagan in the Oval Office. (Noah "Nanea" Hamilton/Rawhide Pictures)

In addition to extensively following the president's fight against communism, the "Reagan" movie also tackles how he survived an assassination attempt. Quaid remarked on how the country held its breath in that moment in 1981, and offered his reaction to the recent attempt on former President Trump's life.

"Well, I had the same reaction that I had when Reagan was shot," he said. "Thank God he survived it. Because the first thing I thought when Reagan got shot was remembering when Kennedy got shot, and it crippled our nation's spirit for some decades. It was Ronald Reagan who kind of actually brought that spirit back."

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Quaid said one other thing he admired about Reagan was his reliance on his faith, because it hits close to home.

"It plays a large, large role in my life," Quaid told Fox Digital. "It is life and what's important goes way beyond being in movies or having a career. It's your faith. Important thing's like your family."

"Reagan," from director Sean McNamara, producer Mark Joseph and also starring Penelope Ann Miller and Jon Voight, is out in theaters Friday, August 30.  

Fox News Digital's Nikolas Lanum contributed to this report.