Dennis Quaid stars in Paramount+’s latest crime show Happy Face, and it’s a great follow-up to his most recent horror movie that just won an Oscar. Dennis Quaid has done a bit of everything in his acting career, which began in the 1970s with an uncredited role in the action comedy movie Crazy Mama and the detective TV series Baretta. Quaid’s big break arrived in 1983 when he played Gordon Cooper in Philip Kaufman’s The Right Stuff, which he followed with a starring role in Jaws 3-D.
After Quaid’s successful streak calmed down in the early 1990s, he regained force when he appeared in Dragonheart and The Parent Trap. Quaid has since been a well-established actor who has explored different genres – from rom-coms like In Good Company, family-friendly movies like Yours, Mine & Ours, disaster movies like The Day After Tomorrow, and even biopics like Reagan. Quaid recently took part in an Oscar-winning horror movie, which he’s following up with the true crime drama TV series Happy Face, continuing an interesting streak.
Dennis Quaid Continues His Villain Role Streak With Happy Face After The Substance
The Substance Saw Dennis Quaid As A Very Real Villain
Dennis Quaid has mostly played good guys and likable characters, and it’s the type of role he’s mostly known for, though he has also gone for some darker roles. Most recently, and right after the failure of Reagan, Quaid had a small but very memorable role in Coralie Fargeat’s body horror The Substance. The movie follows Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore), a fading celebrity who decides to try a black-market drug that creates a younger version of herself. This version, played by Margaret Qualley, goes by “Sue”, and revives Elisabeth’s career, fully taking over it.
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The way the serums work in The Substance is terrifying in a lot of different ways, even beyond the movie’s overt body-horror moments.
However, there are strict rules on the use of the “substance” that must be followed by all users, but Sue is too fascinated by her life to follow those rules. Quaid plays Harvey, Elisabeth’s producer, who fires her from her long-running aerobics TV show due to her age… and he does so on her birthday. Harvey begins to find her replacement and hires Sue, boosting her career. Harvey is a villain in The Substance, representing control and manipulation in the entertainment business, as well as the gender hierarchy.
The Substance won the Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling in 2025.
Now, Quaid is continuing this villain streak with the TV series Happy Face, where he’s playing Keith Hunter Jesperson, known as the Happy Face Killer. Jesperson was given that name as he drew smiley faces on the letters he sent to the media and authorities. Jesperson was arrested in 1995 and is currently serving a sentence of life without parole. Although Harvey and Jesperson are completely different, both are villains rooted in reality in different ways.
Why Dennis Quaid Was Originally Hesitant To Star As A Serial Killer In Happy Face
Playing A Serial Killer Is Never An Easy Decision
The Substance’s Harvey is a fictional character, though surely with some very real inspirations, but Jesperson is a real person, currently serving time in prison for his crimes. Because of that, it’s understandable that Quaid was initially hesitant to play the lead role in Happy Face. At the show’s premiere at SXSW, Quaid revealed he gave it a lot of thought because he didn’t want the real Jesperson to “feel any kind of glory about himself being out there”, and that playing this type of character has an effect on the actor (via Variety).
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Happy Face True Story: Keith Hunter Jesperson’s Crimes & His Daughter Melissa Moore’s Life Explained
Paramount+’s Happy Face fictionalizes the narrative, but the true story of Keith Hunter Jesperson’s crimes and Melissa Moore’s life is equally tragic.
What convinced Quaid to join Happy Face was that it’s told through the point of view of Jesperson’s daughter, Melissa Moore, played by Annaleigh Ashford. Happy Face is adapted from Moore’s podcast of the same name and her autobiography Shattered Silence, giving the TV show a personal perspective. Happy Face is an interesting follow-up to Quaid’s role in The Substance, and it’s to be seen how his performance is received.
Source: Variety.
Happy Face
7/10
- Release Date
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March 20, 2025
- Network
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Paramount+
- Directors
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Michael Showalter
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Annaleigh Ashford
Melissa Moore
