(1989), Dragonheart (1996), The Parent Trap (1998), Frequency (2000), The Rookie (2002), The Day After Tomorrow (2004), In Good Company (2004), Flight of the Phoenix (2004), Yours, Mine & Ours (2005), and Vantage Point (2008).

[2] Quaid also acted in The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (1981), Jaws 3-D (1983), Come See the Paradise (1990), Any Given Sunday (1999), Traffic (2000), American Dreamz (2006), Footloose (2011), Playing for Keeps (2012), Truth (2015), Midway (2019), Strange World (2022), and The Substance (2024).

Quaid appeared as an extra at a graduation ceremony in the Ivan Reitman–directed comedy Stripes (1981) starring Bill Murray.

[3] His breakout role was for his portrayal of astronaut Gordon Cooper in the critically acclaimed Philip Kaufman–directed historical epic The Right Stuff (1983).

Critic Roger Ebert praised the film, writing, "It contains uniformly interesting performances", naming Quaid, Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, and Fred Ward.

That same year, Quaid had starring roles in the horror film Jaws 3-D (1983) and the romantic sports drama Tough Enough, acting alongside Pam Grier.

Hal Hinson of The Washington Post praised his performance, comparing him to Jack Nicholson: "The same is true for Quaid.

A gator grin spreading over his face, Quaid is so unabashedly full of himself that you get swept up in his enthusiastic high spirits.

He also starred as an aging pro football quarterback in Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday (1999) and in the science fiction film Frequency (2000).

Quaid earned a nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture along with the ensemble.

He gained acclaim for his role in the Norman Jewison–directed HBO film Dinner with Friends (2001), based on the Donald Margulies play of the same name; Quaid acted alongside Andie MacDowell, Greg Kinnear, and Toni Collette.

In 2002, Quaid portrayed former baseball pitcher Jim Morris in the Walt Disney sports drama The Rookie (2002).

That same year, he earned acclaim for his role as the closeted husband Frank Whitaker during the 1950s in the Todd Haynes–directed romantic period film Far From Heaven.

He played the president in the political comedy American Dreamz (2006) with Hugh Grant, Mandy Moore, Marcia Gay Harden, and Willem Dafoe.

In 2008, Quaid starred in the political action thriller Vantage Point (2008) alongside Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, and Forest Whitaker.

That same year, he portrayed football coach Ben Schwartzwalder in the sports drama The Express: The Ernie Davis Story (2008).

He also acted in Pandorum (2009) and guest starred in an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, playing Mr. Krabs' grandfather, Captain Redbeard.

In 2015, he made guest appearances playing Lucky Luciano in Drunk History and a chief and a judge in Inside Amy Schumer.

[17] The same year, Quaid starred alongside Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley in the body horror film The Substance, in which he portrays a sleazy television studio executive named Harvey.

[24][25] Quaid married Texas real estate agent Kimberly Buffington on July 4, 2004, at his ranch in Paradise Valley, Montana.

[29][30] The babies recovered, but Quaid filed a lawsuit against the drug manufacturer, Baxter Healthcare, claiming that packaging for the two doses of heparin are not different enough.

[32] The incident led Quaid to become a patient-safety advocate, producing a series of documentaries on preventable medical errors that aired on the Discovery Channel,[33][34] as well as co-authoring a medical-journal article addressing the positive influence of patient stories in motivating change in healthcare.

[42] After waiting to establish the required six months of residency in California, Quaid filed for divorce on November 30, 2012, asking for joint legal and physical custody of the children and offering to pay spousal support to Buffington.

[51] He wrote the Christian song "On My Way to Heaven", dedicated to his mother and included in the film I Can Only Imagine, in which Quaid starred.

Quaid is a fan of the Houston Astros, and after the team's 2005 National League Championship–winning season, he narrated their commemorative DVD release.

"[57] In a 2018 interview with the New York Post, Quaid stated he was a registered independent and has voted for both Democratic and Republican candidates, saying that he did not consider himself an adherent to any particular ideology; though he did opine that Ronald Reagan was his favorite president of his lifetime.

"[59] Quaid subsequently recorded an interview with infectious-disease expert Anthony Fauci as part of an advertising campaign by the Department of Health and Human Services to "defeat despair" surrounding COVID-19.