There are very few things that would pry Dennis Quaid away from his golf game.

One of them is a chance to talk about his beloved Texas.

Quaid, 50, who was born and raised in Houston admits "when you're a Texan you learn Texas history before you learn American history.

"The central historical story in my life was the Alamo. As a child I used to play The Alamo. We all wanted to be Davy Crockett."

When Quaid learned that fellow Texan John Lee Hancock had been hired to replace Ron Howard as the director on Disney's The Alamo, the actor picked up the phone.

"I'd worked with John on The Rookie. I told him I'd play a soldier just to work with him again on The Alamo. I just wanted to be a part of the project."

Quaid was surprised when Hancock offered him the role of General Sam Houston, the man who avenged the slaughter at the Alamo and forced the Mexican dictator Santa Anna to sign away all claims to Texas.

"I still can't believe I have realized my two most fervent childhood dreams. In The Right Stuff, I got to play an astronaut and I got to star in The Alamo."

Once Quaid got over his initial excitement of being cast as Houston, he had to get down to one of the more difficult roles in a career that has spanned 30 years.

"Playing Houston was a real challenge. He was a hard man to like. History books alternate between praising him and vilifying him.

"The more research I did about him, the more fascinated I became. I think John's film will be an invaluable aid in history classes, because it gives a far more accurate picture of Houston than I ever had."

Houston never made it to the battle at the Alamo.

He was building an army.

"Houston actually sent James Bowie (Jason Patric) to blow up the Alamo. He always knew it was best to force Santa Anna to come to him rather than try to defend the Alamo."

While Quaid's fellow actors, Patric, Billy Bob Thornton, Patric Wilson, Emilio Echevarria and hundreds of extras, were either defending or attacking the replica of the Alamo, Quaid was up in Montreal saving the world from global warming.

"I was filming The Day After Tomorrow for Roland (Independence Day) Emmerich.

"Whenever I had a weekend off, I'd fly down to (San Antonio) to watch them filming. I took my son (Jack Henry Quaid) with me. I envy his introduction to this important part of Texan history."

Quaid is currently filming the comedy Synergy with Topher Grace, Scarlett Johansson, Selma Blair and Marg Helgenberger.

"Career wise this has been an incredible three years for me.

"It all started with The Rookie and Far From Heaven which were released within months of each other."

His box-office and critical success came at a price when his 10-year marriage to Meg Ryan collapsed.

"I'm on the mend. So much is happening in my life. I have so much to be grateful for."


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