Aidan Quinn

Actor Aidan Quinn's breakthrough role came in 1985's Desperately Seeking Susan. He subsequently appeared in Legends of the Fall and Benny and Joon.

He was originally cast as Jesus of Nazareth in Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ. The role went to Willem Dafoe once the project switched studios.

Quinn's father was a literature professor and encouraged his son to explore the liberal arts. Quinn began performing on stage in Chicago at the age of 19 and made the move to film in his mid-20s.

He met his wife, Elizabeth Bracco, at a restaurant in the mid-1980s and the two later worked together on Stakeout.

Quinn has appeared in several critically acclaimed miniseries and television movies on HBO, most notably Empire Falls and Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

According to IMDb, Quinn twice auditioned for the Coen Brothers, being rejected both times. Based on this experience, he no longer agrees to audition for their films.

• Note: The majority of the links in this timeline are to IMDb, which has pop-ups.

• March 8, 1959: Born

• 1984: Reckless

• 1985: Desperately Seeking Susan

• 1985: An Early Frost

• 1989: Perfect Witness

• 1990: Avalon

• 1993: Benny & Joon

• 1994: Legends of the Fall

• 1998: Practical Magic

• 2000: Sundance Film Festival Award for Songcatcher

• 2002: Stolen Summer

• 2004: Shadow of Fear

• 2007: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee