Career

His first significant film role was in Reckless, followed by a breakthrough role in Desperately Seeking Susan as the character "Dez" (the love interest of the character played by Rosanna Arquette). Quinn next starred in the controversial television film An Early Frost, about a young gay lawyer dying of AIDS (it was broadcast on NBC on November 11, 1985 and co-starred Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara and Sylvia Sidney). He received his first Emmy Award nomination for the role which allowed him to gain recognition in Hollywood. He made a short impressive contribution as Robert De Niro's brother in The Mission. He played escaped convict Richard "Stick" Montgomery in the action comedy Stakeout opposite Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez.

In 1983 Quinn lost the role of Jesus Christ when Paramount Pictures dropped the Martin Scorsese movie The Last Temptation of Christ. When Universal Pictures picked up the film, the role went to Willem Dafoe. In the meantime, Quinn starred as protagonist in the film Crusoe, finished in 1989.

During the 1990s, he appeared in Legends of the Fall, Benny & Joon, The Handmaid's Tale, Haunted and Practical Magic. He also starred in Michael Collins, Song for a Raggy Boy, This Is My Father, and Evelyn. He played a small cameo as the captain of a doomed Arctic vessel in the Francis Ford Coppola-produced adaptation of Frankenstein.

In 2000, Quinn portrayed Paul McCartney in the VH1 television drama, Two of Us.

Quinn appeared in the 2005 movie The Exonerated a true story about people on death row who had been freed in which Quinn played Kerry Max Cook.

Quinn played the main character on the NBC drama The Book of Daniel, in 2006. The show was canceled after the first three weeks of its run, and its last five episodes never aired. In 2007, Quinn received his second Emmy nomination for the television movie Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

In 2010, he played the important cameo role of William Rainsferd in the French-made film, Sarah's Key, a powerful story set during World War II, alongside Kristin Scott Thomas.

He starred as "Dermot" opposite Taylor Schilling (Abby) in the Canadian-Irish drama film Stay (2013).

Quinn currently co-stars in the CBS Television series Elementary.

Personal life

In 1987, Quinn married his Stakeout co-star, Elizabeth Bracco (sister of actress Lorraine Bracco). They have two daughters: Mia (b. 1998) and Ava Eileen (b. 1989), who has autism. Ava appeared as the baby "David" in Avalon, and Mia played a ghost in The Eclipse. Former residents of Englewood, New Jersey, Quinn and his family now live in Palisades, Rockland County, New York and Marbletown in the Catskills / Woodstock region of Ulster County, New York.

As an avid sports fan, Quinn supports the Chicago Cubs, the Green Bay Packers, Michael Jordan, Rory McIlroy, and Roger Federer.

Philanthropy

Quinn has participated in charity golf events for the East Lake Foundation, a community redevelopment program, and Samuel L. Jackson's "One for the Boys" campaign about testicular cancer awareness. In 2010, Quinn attended a premiere benefit screening of A Shine of Rainbows for the International Children's Media Center (ICMC) and The American Ireland Fund (AIF). In 1991, he read a segment from Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis as part of MTV's "Books: Feed Your Head" literacy promotion PSAs.

Quinn spoke at the 2003 "Night of Too Many Stars" gala benefiting The Autism Coalition. He was an honorary board member of the National Alliance for Autism Research (NAAR), which merged with Autism Speaks.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984	Reckless	Johnny Rourke
1985	Desperately Seeking Susan	Dez
1986	Mission, TheThe Mission	Felipe Mendoza
1987	Stakeout	Richard 'Stick' Montgomery
1989	Crusoe	Crusoe
1990	Handmaid's Tale, TheThe Handmaid's Tale	Nick
	Lemon Sisters, TheThe Lemon Sisters	Frankie McGuinness
	Avalon	Jules Kaye
1991	At Play in the Fields of the Lord	Martin Quarrier
1992	Playboys, TheThe Playboys	Tom Casey
1993	Benny & Joon	Benjamin 'Benny' Pearl
1994	Blink	Det. John Hallstrom
	Frankenstein	Cpt. Robert Walton
	Legends of the Fall	Alfred Ludlow
1995	Stars Fell on Henrietta, TheThe Stars Fell on Henrietta	Don Day
	Haunted	Prof. David Ash
	Lumière and Company		Short film: "John Boorman"
1996	Looking for Richard	Richmond
	Michael Collins	Harry Boland
1997	Commandments	Seth Warner
	Assignment, TheThe Assignment	Lt. Cmdr. Annibal Ramirez / Carlos
1998	This Is My Father	Kieran O'Day	Also Executive Producer; Nominated - Irish Film and Television Award
	Practical Magic	Officer Gary Hallet	Nominated - Blockbuster Entertainment Award
1999	In Dreams	Paul Cooper
	Music of the Heart	Brian Turner
2000	Songcatcher	Tom Bledsoe	Sundance Film Festival - Special Jury Prize
2002	Stolen Summer	Joe O'Malley	Production chronicled in Project Greenlight
	Evelyn	Nick Barron
2003	Song for a Raggy Boy	William Franklin	Nominated - IFTA Award
2004	Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius	Harry Vardon
	Shadow of Fear	Detective Scofield
	Return to Sender	Frank Nitzche	Alternate title: Convicted; Nominated - IFTA Award
	Proud	Commodore Alfred Lind
2005	Nine Lives	Henry	Nominated - Gotham Award
2007	Dark Matter	Prof. Jacob Reiser
	32A	Frank Brennan
2008	Wild Child	Gerry Moore
2009	Shine of Rainbows, AA Shine of Rainbows	Alec
	Eclipse, TheThe Eclipse	Nicholas Holden	IFTA Award
	Handsome Harry	Prof. Porter
2010	Flipped	Richard Baker
	Festival of Lights	Adem
	Jonah Hex	President Ulysses S. Grant
	Sarah's Key	William Rainsferd
	Across the Line: The Exodus of Charlie Wright	Charlie Wright
	The 5th Quarter	Steven Abbate
	The Pilgrims: The Journey to a New World for Autism	Himself
2011	Unknown	Martin B.
	Stand Up, TheThe Stand Up	Sandy Hardwick
	The Greening of Whitney Brown	Henry Brown
	Muide Éire	Himself	Alternate title: We Are Ireland
2012	If I Were You	Derek
	Allegiance	Lieutenant Colonel Owens	Alternate title: Recalled
2013	The Last Keepers	John Carver
	Rushlights	Cameron Brogden
	Stay	Dermot Fay
2014	Journey to Sundance	Himself
2015	The Gettysburg Address	Theodore Parker	Voice

2016: THE MOVIE: AshoNeo (a youtuber)

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	An Early Frost	Michael Pierson	NBC TV film; Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award
1987	All My Sons	Chris Keller	PBS TV film, presented in American Playhouse
1989	Perfect Witness	Sam Paxton	HBO TV film
1991	Lies of the Twins	James / Jonathan McEwan	USA TV film
1992	Private Matter, AA Private Matter	Bob Finkbine	HBO TV film; Nominated - CableACE Award
1994	Ken Burns' Baseball	Himself / Various	PBS miniseries; 2 episodes
1995	The Irish in America	Narrator	A&E Biography TV film
	Out of Ireland: The Story of Irish Emigration to America	Narrator	TV film
1997	Forbidden Territory: Stanley's Search for Livingstone	Henry Morton Stanley	ABC TV film
2000	The Prince and the Pauper	Miles Hendon	Hallmark TV film
	Two of Us	Paul McCartney	VH1 TV film
	The Young Messiah	Narrator	RTÉ TV film; Alternate title: The Messiah XXI
2001	Night Visions	Jeremy Bell	Ep. 1.1: "The Passenger List"
	Project Greenlight	Himself	The making of Season 1 winner, Stolen Summer; 5 episodes
2003	Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor	Gen. Benedict Arnold V	A&E TV film
	Freedom: A History of US	Mob Member / Philadelphia Press Editorial	PBS miniseries; 2 episodes
2004	See You in My Dreams	Joe F. Brown	CBS TV film
	Plainsong	Tom Guthrie	CBS TV film
	Cavedweller	Clint Windsor	Showtime TV film; Nominated - Independent Spirit Award
	Miracle Run	Douglas Thomas	LMN TV film
2004-05	Third Watch	Lt. / Captain John Miller	5 episodes (Season 6)
2005	The Exonerated	Kerry Max Cook	CourtTV film
	Empire Falls	David Roby	HBO miniseries; 2 episodes
	Mayday	John Berry	CBS TV film
2006	Book of Daniel, TheThe Book of Daniel	Daniel Webster	Lead role; 8 episodes
	All*Star Cup	Himself (Team USA)	Celebrity golf event in Wales (Series 2)
2007	Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee	Henry L. Dawes	HBO TV film; Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award, OFTA Award, Satellite Award
	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Ben Nicholson	Ep. 9.4: "Savant"
2008	Canterbury's Law	Matthew 'Matt' Furey	Main cast; 5 episodes
	The Prince of Motor City	Charlie Hamilton	ABC drama pilot
2010	White Collar	Prof. George Oswald	Ep. 2.3: "Copycat Caffrey"
2011	Weeds	Foster 'Chuck' Klein	4 episodes (Season 7)
	Prime Suspect	Lt. Kevin Sweeney	Main cast; 13 episodes
2012	The Horses of McBride	Matt Davidson	CTV film
2012-present	Elementary	Captain Thomas 'Tommy' Gregson	Main cast; 96 episodes
2014	From Tee to Green: The Story of Irish Golf	Narrator	Setanta Sports miniseries; 3 episodes

Theatre

Year	Production	Role	Venue / Notes
1979	The Man in 605	Jerry Green	Performance Community Theater, Chicago; Produced and directed by Byrne Piven at the Piven Theatre Workshop
	Scheherazade		Chicago, IL
	The Irish Hebrew Lesson		Chicago, IL; Written by Wolf Mankowitz
1984	Fool for Love	Eddie	Douglas Fairbanks Theater, NY
1985	Hamlet	Prince Hamlet	Wisdom Bridge Theatre, IL; Directed by Robert Falls
1985-1986	A Lie of the Mind	Frankie	Promenade Theatre, NY
1988	A Streetcar Named Desire	Stanley Kowalski	Broadway - Circle in the Square Theatre, NY; Theatre World Award recipient
2003	The Exonerated	Kerry Max Cook	45 Bleecker Theater, Bleecker Street, NY; Curran Theatre, San Francisco, CA
2004	Trumbo: Red, White and Blacklisted	Dalton Trumbo	Westside Theatre (Downstairs), NY
2005	The Exonerated	Kerry Max Cook	Queen's Hall, Edinburgh Festival Fringe
2006			Riverside Studios, West End of London; Dublin Theatre Festival
2008	Conversations in Tusculum	Brutus	The Public Theater, NY

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Work	Result
1986	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Special	An Early Frost	Nominated
1988	Theatre World Award	A Streetcar Named Desire	Won
1993	CableACE Award for Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries	A Private Matter	Nominated
1999	Irish Film and Television Award for Best Actor in a Male Role	This Is My Father	Nominated
	Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor - Comedy / Romance	Practical Magic	Nominated
2000	Sundance Film Festival - Special Jury Prize For Ensemble Cast	Songcatcher	Won
2003	Irish Film & Television Award (IFTA) for Best Actor in a Film - Public Vote	N/A	Nominated
	Irish Film & Television Award (IFTA) for Best Actor in a Film - Jury Award	Song for a Raggy Boy	Nominated
2005	Irish Film & Television Award (IFTA) for Best Actor in a Feature Film	Return to Sender (aka Convicted)	Nominated
	Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male	Cavedweller	Nominated
	Gotham Award for Best Ensemble Cast	Nine Lives	Nominated
2007	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie	Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee	Nominated
	Online Film & Television Association (OFTA) Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries		Nominated
	Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television		Nominated
2010	Irish Film & Television Award (IFTA) for Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Film	The Eclipse	Won

Charities

Aidan Quinn supports the following charitable cause: Autism.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]