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Dennis Quaid says he used cocaine to practice piano 12 hours a day for one of his most iconic roles

Dennis Quaid reflects on how his cocaine addiction influenced his memorable performance as Jerry Lee Lewis in "Great Balls of Fire!"

Dennis Quaid admits he took things a bit over the edge while preparing to play rock 'n' roll bad boy Jerry Lee Lewis in his 1989 biopic "Great Balls of Fire!" Already a bonafide movie star thanks to his roles in films like "The Right Stuff," "The Big Easy," and "D.O.A.," the then-34-year-old Quaid immersed himself in learning to play the piano like the flamboyant Lewis, who in the late 1950s had a string of hits like "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," "Great Balls of Fire," and "High School Confidential." Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection/Getty "I remember going home and having a white light experience that I saw myself either dead or in jail or losing everything I had, and I didn't want that," he told People in 2023 about his addiction.

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