Randy Quaid's neighbour had no idea actor was living next door

Randy Quaid to face detention review today in Montreal

Randy Quaid and his Canadian wife kept a low profile while living in what appears to be an above-garage apartment on a secluded Montreal street, says next-door neighbour Ivan Mulkeen.

"I was as surprised as anyone, I think," said Mulkeen, who lives near the corner of Simpson and Doctor-Penfield avenues.

He said he'd been casually following Quaid's escapades after the actor disappeared a few years ago.

Quaid and his Canadian wife Evi applied for refugee status in Canada in 2010, claiming they were being persecuted in the U.S. and were possible targets of so-called "Hollywood star-whackers" who were bent on killing actors.

Until last Thursday, the government had no idea where Quaid had been living after he failed to show up for an Immigration and Refugee Board interview in 2013.

"He was living in a small sort of building that's right behind our garage, it turns out," Mulkeen said.

"Our garage has a finished suite above it and I think he was living in a sort of equivalent one."

Mulkeen was home while the police arrested Quaid, but didn't even notice until his partner's mother told them about it.

"There were a lot of cops here, yeah — that's what tipped us off to something going on, but I was fairly oblivious to what was happening," Mulkeen said.