Dennis Quaid Spills Secrets of How He Put on Bill Clinton Pounds

By Stacy Jenel Smith Posted May 12th 2010 11:30AM

Dennis Quaid as Bill Clinton in The Secret Relationship on HBO

Exclusive: We don't expect McDonald's to be lovin' the secrets of Dennis Quaid's diet.

Quaid went to great lengths to play Bill Clinton in HBO's upcoming 'The Special Relationship.' "I gained 35 pounds for the role," he tells PopEater. "I could have worn a suit to enhance my weight, but I didn't want to go that route. I did it the way he did: I went to McDonald's every day."

Did he enjoy the license to super size it? "Well, it's different when you're doing it for work. You feel like a baby on a feeding schedule," says Quaid, whose performance as Clinton is outstanding.

What Would You Feast on To Gain Lbs? Tell It To FaceBook

'The Special Relationship' marks the third in British screenwriter Peter Morgan's trilogy of films about former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, following 2003's 'The Deal' and 2006's Oscar-winning 'The Queen.' Michael Sheen again plays Blair, along with Helen McCrory as Cherie Blair and Hope Davis as Hillary Rodham Clinton, in this behind-closed-doors story of the unique relationship between the Clintons and Blairs from 1996-2000.

Quaid recently wrapped production on the big screen flick 'Soul Surfer,' in which he plays Tom Hamilton, the father of Bethany Hamilton, the champion teen surfer who lost her arm in a near-fatal shark attack in 2003. He calls his onscreen daughter, AnnaSophia Robb, "just fantastic, incredible. She's a little Meryl Streep, I think. She's so good."

See Quaid as Clinton in 'The Special Relationship'

"It's such a great inspirational story -- I just had to be a part of it. It was a no-brainer," says Quaid of the feature, which also stars Helen Hunt and Carrie Underwood. "I saw [Hamilton] on TV and I was so moved by the way she took lemons and made lemonade out of what happened to her."

It's not the first time that Quaid has found himself playing dad to a gifted young actress. Asked what he'd like to say to his 'Parent Trap' daughter, Lindsay Lohan, he hesitates and sighs.

"I haven't talked to her in years, and I don't really want to get involved in the drama. It's too bad," he says. "I'd just like her to get on with her life, to tell you the truth."

Tags: Dennis Quaid

Comments

(12)

Wednesday 12 May

By James

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All that work eating just to look like a turd. Oh, and firsty.

By frehley1976

that so doesnt look like bill clinton, sounded like him, but poor makeup job

By serena

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Dennis Quaid looks alot like Bill Clinton. Can't wait to see
how he plays the part!

By Laura

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Yeah, the looks of the people are mediocre in similarity but they got the voices spot on. Both Bill and Hilary

Thursday 13 May

By Janet

another sure fire hit...not. Nothing to do with hollywood makeup or Quaids talent. Talk about political marriage. They are as fake and phoney as the day is long. Bill Clinton I can do anything I want and get away with it and he did. Hillary more politically hungry than her husband. Scary.

By h

Totally disgusting!! First Time hails Clinton as a hero and now this garbage! It's clear from this clip that Clinton's were fake, calculating, manipulative and nasty fascist pigs! It also scares me to think how popular he still is and stupid people are about him. True heroes are hard to find!
PS Quaid looks weird!

By Blonde Beauty

Dennis Quaid out of character, wouldn't have been my first choice as the actor to play Bill Clinton.. However, after seeing, and hearing his "Clinton" impression, I was impressed! He not only sounded just like him, as did the actress who plays Hillary, but he even looks kind of like a politician dressed up like that! lol Good job, DQ!

By james russell

Dennis will probably be able to pull off the BILL CLINTON image without too much of a problem. he's got the mannerisms down anyway. But I think that a remake of Virgina Woolf character of Hilary Clinton would be very difficult for anyone while the barricuda was still alive. GO ICE QUEEN

By PatrickPain

No, NO he's playing Hillary.

By TomW

are we going to have another liberal we love the guy mmovie? I didn't know that there was an outcry for that. Will it mention that he sold pardons at the end of this terms and then looted the White House and only returned the property when threatened with arrest? Probably not. Will it mention that he sold nights in the Lincoln bedroom to movie stars and directors? No, probably not. Will it mention that his wife has been very successful in her career and without scandal? Doubt that too.

By blondeangel984

This clip tells me nothing about this movie. And the title implies that it will be about the Monica scandal. Garbage.

By Good Luck!

I'm ashamed of Quaid. He should stick with authentic inspirational movies, not the notorious life of "Wild Bill" Clinton, who along with his "Band of Muppets", his cabinet, are the 2nd significant reason America is being drowned into a cesspool of graft, collusion and corruption at all levels of government. His wife is worse - liars, cheats, thieves, and alleged murder involvement, 207 at last count. Quaid certainly didn't do his research - check out Mena, Arkansas, the airport while Clinton was governor, then their behind the scenes behavior only got worse when he became president. Despicable man and wife, perverts and absolutely no morals or values. They're only saving grace: they both know what to say and how to say it to the naive public....

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