Why Dennis Quaid Was at First Reluctant to Play Ronald Reagan in Biopic: 'He Was My Favorite President'

Dennis Quaid is a fan of Ronald Reagan, but he felt reluctant at first to play the late president in the new biopic Reagan.

While the actor, 70, appeared on the Today show to promote the movie on Aug. 29, the actor told host Craig Melvin that he initially felt reluctant to accept the role.

"He was my favorite president. Reagan is like Muhammad Ali — you show a picture of him to anyone in the world and they’re going to say, ‘That’s Reagan,' " he said. "I didn’t want to do an impersonation. I wanted to get to the human being behind the public persona."

Quaid said he was invited to Reagan's ranch near Santa Barbara, Calif., known as Rancho del Cielo, per the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum, while researching the part. There, he felt a profound connection to the late president while visiting.

"Coming through the gates, I could feel him there," he said. "I mean, the house they had, it was 11,000 square feet. A two-bedroom apartment. They had a king-sized bed but it was two single beds zipped together. Reagan was not a rich man, I realized. He was a very humble man. That’s what led me into it."

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Reagan was president from 1981 through 1989 and died at age 93 on June 5, 2004, from Alzheimer's disease. Quaid said he spent two years preparing to shoot the movie and joked that his "poor kids and my wife lived with Ronald Reagan at different times of his life for a couple of years" while discussing how he adapted Reagan's mannerisms and voice.

"But I wanted to learn it and forget it. YouTube is fantastic as far as a source for that, but I just wanted to forget it so we could do these scenes," he said, adding that his costar Penelope Ann Miller was "so good" as late first lady Nancy Reagan.

"She just was Nancy, even in the lunch line," he said. "She’s such an incredible actress. At the core, the move is a love story of Ron and Nancy and their marriage over five [or] six decades, and there wouldn’t have been a president Reagan without Nancy."

Quaid previously told PEOPLE in April that he felt "scared to death" over playing the role. He said his experience at Reagan's ranch helped him realize the late president "was a really humble, humble guy."

Reagan is in theaters Aug. 30.