Born in Chicago to Irish parents, Quinn spent much of his youth in Ireland, where he first became interested in acting. At age 19 he returned to Chicago and became involved in several local theater groups. His onstage debut came in a production of The Man in 60, after which he appeared in many plays, including Hamlet in Chicago's Wisdom Bridge Theater. Quinn then moved to New York, where he first appeared off-Broadway in Sam Shepard's Fool For Love. Following several other acclaimed performances, he landed his first big-screen role, as a low-class biker in Reckless (1984), which costarred Daryl Hannah. His second film, the highly-successful comedy Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), made him familiar to an international audience; he gained further exposure in the role of an AIDS victim in the TV movie An Early Frost (1985), for which he received an Emmy. Since then, he has appeared steadily in high-quality feature films, usually in challenging supporting roles.
Aidan Quinn
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- Parents immigrated to the U.S. from Ireland before he was born, but he spent most of his childhood split between Illinois and Ireland.
- Trained at the Piven Theatre Workshop in Evanston, IL, run by Jeremy Piven's father, Byrne, and made his stage debut opposite Byrne Piven in 1979 in The Man in 605.
- Made his film debut in the 1984 drama Reckless, but made his name a year later in Desperately Seeking Susan and the TV-movie An Early Frost.
- The 1998 romantic drama This Is My Father starred Aidan, was written and directed by his brother Paul, with cinematography by brother Declan and featured a cameo by his sister Marian.
- Brother-in-law of actress Lorraine Bracco.
- Works with several autism-related organizations; his daughter, Ava, was diagnosed with the disorder when she was a toddler.