Dennis Quaid confesses wife was creeped out by his serial killer role, 'was a little iffy there'

Dennis Quaid revealed that his wife Laura Savoie was initially disturbed by his role as real-life serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson in his new true-crime drama series "Happy Face."

In the Paramount+ show, the 70-year-old actor portrayed Jesperson, a Canadian-American truck driver who murdered at least eight women in the early 1990s. Jesperson was nicknamed "The Happy Face Killer" as he signed letters that he sent to media outlets and authorities with drawings of a smiley face.

During a recent interview with Fox News Digital, Quaid shared how Savoie reacted to his portrayal of Jesperson after she first watched the show.

"It was a little iffy there for a couple of hours afterwards because, you know, that'd be creepy for me, too," he admitted. 

Dennis Quaid admitted that his wife Laura Savoie was creeped out by his serial killer role. (Ed Araquel/Paramount+/Getty)

"But she knows me," Quaid added.

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Quaid and Savoie, who is 39 years his junior, announced their engagement in October 2019 and married in June 2020. While speaking with Fox News Digital, Quaid explained that the key to the pair's successful marriage is their shared Christian faith. 

"God is in our relationship," he said. "I think that's the real secret of it. Having God in your relationship is essential, I think."

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Prior to tying the knot with Savoie, Quaid was married three times. In 1978, he married his "Our Winning Season" co-star P.J. Soles but the two divorced in 1983. After previously co-starring in 1987's "Innerspace," Quaid and Meg Ryan fell in love when they reunited for the 1988 neo-noir movie "D.O.A."

Quaid and Ryan tied the knot in 1991 and welcomed son Jack the following year. The actors starred together for the third time in 1993's "Flesh and Bone" and became known as one of Hollywood's golden couples. 

"It was a little iffy there for a couple of hours afterwards because, you know, that'd be creepy for me, too."

However, the two stunned fans when they announced their separation in 2000 and divorced a year later.

In 2004, Quaid wed Texas real estate agent Kimberly Buffington. The two, who are parents to twins Thomas and Zoe, separated in 2016 and finalized their divorce in 2018. 

Quiad praised his son Jack, whose movie was number one at the U.S. box office. (Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for UTA)

During his interview with Fox News Digital, Quaid heaped praise on Jack, 31, who followed in his parents' footsteps and embarked on an acting career. Jack made his debut when he played a minor role in the 2012 blockbuster dystopian movie "The Hunger Games." He returned to the franchise when he made a cameo appearance in 2013's Catching Fire.

Jack went on to appear in a string of independent films and became a member of the sketch comedy troop Sasquatch Sketch. After playing supporting characters in "Logan Lucky" and "Tragedy Girls," Jack landed his breakthrough role as Hugh "Wee Hughie" Campbell in the hit Amazon Prime superhero series "The Boys."

In 2023, Jack landed his first lead role in an action movie when he was cast in "Novocaine." The movie premiered last weekend and reached number one at the U.S. box office.

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Quaid told Fox News Digital that seeing Jack's movie lead the box office was "fantastic" and he "couldn't be prouder" of his son. He also predicted that Jack's success would surpass that of his famous parents.

"The guy is on a trajectory to go way past both me and his mother, I think," he said. "I hope so. And I think he will. He's such a great guy."

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Quaid noted that Jack had refused his help as he wanted to make it in Hollywood on his own merit.

"He's really earned it," Quaid said. "Done it all himself. You know, I offered to help him get an agent because my agent wanted to represent him ever since he was a kid because it looked like he was on his way there. He said, ‘No, Dad, I want to do it myself.’"

Quaid plays the "Happy Face Killer" Keith Jesperson in the show. (Ed Araquel/Paramount+)

Meanwhile, Quaid's latest project premieres March 20 on Paramount+. "Happy Face" is based on the true events surrounding the case of the Happy Face Killer and is told from the perspective of his daughter Melissa Moore. 

The show is an adaptation of Moore's 2009 autobiography Shattered Silence, which she co-wrote with M. Bridget Cook, as well as her 2018 podcast "Happy Face."

According to a plot synopsis,"Happy Face" follows Moore (Annaleigh Ashford), the daughter of Keith Jesperson (Quaid), the Happy Face Killer, as she navigates her identity and the impact of her father's crimes, including a situation where an innocent man faces execution for a crime her father committed.

During his interview with Fox News Digital, Quaid explained why he had no interest in meeting Jesperson, who is serving a sentence of life imprisonment without parole in the Oregon State Penitentiary.

"Usually I like to — if I play a real life person — I like to meet them," he said. "But this guy, I didn't want to meet him. He's in a hole in prison in Portland, where he should be. And I really didn't want to give him any kind of entertainment or feelings of excitement or whatever."

Quaid said that it was difficult for Jesperson's real-life daughter to reconcile her love for her father and his heinous crimes. (Ed Araquel/Paramount+)

However, Quaid explained how he gained insight into the character of Jesperson by working with Moore, noting that the story is told from "her point of view of her dad."

The actor detailed the complicated relationship between Moore and her father as well as how she coped with the aftermath of his crimes.

"They had a very loving, sweet, affectionate relationship as a kid that she remembers," he said of Moore and Jesperson. "He was a truck driver but then at the age of 15, she finds out her father's a serial killer. So how do you reconcile that in your brain? I mean, it doesn't fit?" 

"And she has spent her life since then really trying to right a wrong that cannot be righted in her mind," Quaid continued. "Because you still have feelings for your parents."

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Despite Jesperson's heinous murders, Quaid explained that Moore was conflicted over how to "stop loving" her dad.

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"I don't know how you do that," he said. "And she's really struggled and fought just to be normal in this life. I really admire her because she's taken that and she's reached out to not only the victim's families — he killed eight women in five years — and also families of other serial killers that she has reached out to, and they formed a group to really…just because nobody really understands, except people who have been have gone through what you've gone through."

Quaid's "Happy Face" co-stars James Wolk and Tamera Tomakili also sat down for an interview with Fox News Digital ahead of the show's premiere. Wolk plays Moore's husband Ben and Tomakili portrays Ivy, a producer for a popular talk show where Moore is working as a makeup artist. 

Annaleigh Ashford is pictured as Melissa and Tamera Tomakili as Ivy in "Happy Face." (Ed Araquel/Paramount+)

James Wolk plays Melissa's husband Ben in "Happy Face." (Ed Araquel/Paramount+)

While speaking with Fox News Digital, Wolk and Tomakili discussed their experiences working with Quaid. 

"He's really a generous actor on set, and he's very kind and very professional and also someone I grew up watching," Wolk said. "So for me, it was a trip. It was one of those moments — it's cool. It's working with a legend and he's a great, great actor."

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"I think there was this, not this formality that he had, but he came in giving so much raw energy that it took away this feeling of needing to be proper or I'm working with this great actor," Tomakili recalled. "It was like, 'I'm giving you what I'm going to give you, and you got to step up or match up.'"

She continued, "And it just felt so fun to kind of have that kind of tennis match, that playing with him because you have someone who is so giving and ready from the moment they say, 'Action."

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Wolk and Tomakili also shared what they hope audiences will take away from watching "Happy Face."

"I think I speak for both of us when it's like, it doesn't glorify violence," Wolk said.

"It doesn't glorify it," Tomakili agreed. 

"And I think people should know that going in that this isn't something that glorifies the killer or the violence that was done," Wolk continued. "It deals with the trauma and the psychology and the people that were affected by it. And so I think that's important for people to know coming in."

"Yes, that it shows the other side," Tomakili said. "The people who are actually affected by it and how they move forward through it."

"Happy Face" premieres on March 20 on Paramount+.

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