Aidan Quinn (born March 8, 1959) is an American actor. He made his film debut in Reckless (1984), and has starred in over 80 feature films, including Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), The Mission (1986), Stakeout (1987), All My Sons (1987), Avalon (1990), The Handmaid's Tale (1990), Benny & Joon (1993), Legends of the Fall (1994), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), Michael Collins (1996), Practical Magic (1998), Song for a Raggy Boy (2003), Wild Child (2008) and Unknown (2011). He also played Captain Thomas "Tommy" Gregson on the CBS television series Elementary (2012–19).
Quinn has received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his performances in the television films An Early Frost (1985) and Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007). Highly active in Irish cinema as well as in the United States, Quinn is a four-time Irish Film and Television (IFTA) Award nominee, winning Best Supporting Actor in a Film for the Conor McPherson film The Eclipse (2009).
Contents
Early life
Quinn was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Irish Catholic parents. He was raised in Chicago and Rockford, Illinois, as well as in Dublin and Birr, County Offaly, Ireland. His mother, Teresa, was a homemaker, but also worked as a bookkeeper and in the travel business, and his father, Michael Quinn, was a professor of English literature at Rock Valley College. When he was nineteen and working as a roofer, Quinn realized he wanted to become an actor. He trained at the Piven Theatre Workshop.
