Jack Quaid is the 32-year-old son of Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid. I honestly didn’t realize that he’s in his 30s already, for some reason I thought he was, like, mid-20s. Time flies. Anyway, Jack is an actor, like his parents. He’s been in films like Oppenheimer, Scream (the reboot) and Logan Lucky. He’s doing/done TV shows like The Boys, Vinyl and Star Trek: Lower Decks. He’s not a scrub, he’s a working actor and someone I would put more in the “character actor” category rather than lead-actor. Well, Jack Quaid has heard all of the nepo baby chatter and he has something to say:
Jack Quaid doesn’t shy away from being called a “nepo baby.”
“No matter what I do, people are going to call attention to it. People have called me a ‘nepo baby.’ I’m inclined to agree,” said the 32-year-old “The Boys” star, whose parents are Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan. “I am an immensely privileged person, was able to get representation pretty early on, and that’s more than half the battle.”
Meg Ryan recently defended her son against being called a “nepo baby” in a Glamour magazine profile. “Jack is really talented. He’s more of a natural than I’ll ever be,” Ryan said. “That nepo stuff is so dismissive of his work ethic, his gifts, and how sensitive he is to the idea of his privilege.”
Quaid addressed her comments in The Daily Beast interview by saying, “She’s being a loving mom. But I don’t think she’s trying to say that I’m not a nepo baby. I think she’s just trying to say that, in her opinion, it undermines my talent. I don’t think it undermines my talent. I know that I work hard, and I know I’ve heard ‘no’ way more than I’ve heard ‘yes.’ But I also know that this industry is insanely hard to break into, and I had an easier time doing that than most. Both things can be true. So no, I don’t think she was trying to say that I’m not a privileged person. She knows. She must know. I think she was being a mom.”
I love his answers, honestly. I’ll say this too – while he is a nepo baby and he’s gotten a leg up from his famous name and his famous parents, it helps that he doesn’t really look like either parent. He’s a mix of them, but you don’t look at him and say “oh, that’s Dennis Quaid’s son, for sure.” That alone has helped him carve out his own niche, his own career. But yeah, this is what I want from nepo babies. Acknowledge your privilege, acknowledge that you had an easier time.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- Jack Quaid arrives on the red carpet of the 96th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 10, 2024.,Image: 855647816, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Mike Baker / Avalon
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- Jack Quaid arrives on the red carpet of the 96th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 10, 2024.,Image: 855647878, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Mike Baker / Avalon
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- Jack Quaid arrives on the red carpet of the 96th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 10, 2024.,Image: 855687797, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Richard Harbaugh / Avalon
Such a refreshing answer. I’m not sure why it’s so hard for some other nepo babies to understand that acknowledging their privilege doesn’t mean that they aren’t talented or hard working.
Right? This is such an easy breezy answer, and I like him more for it.
Couldn’t have said it better. I hope that people like him who are self-aware of their situation will also strive to open the door for others without the same early privileges.
He reminded me of his dad even before I saw his name. He has Dennis’s jaw and smile. He comes across really well about nepotism and about his mom’s comments too. He sounds intelligent, and like he knew how stupid other nepo baby comments came across in the past, including his mom’s. I like him. I have never seen him act, but now I want to.
I think he looks like his mama with his dad’s colouring.
@smart&messy, he’s EXCELLENT in The Boys. And it’s a hard, thankless role (he’s constantly covered in goo and put in humiliating scenarios) that he manages to pull off with charm, humanity, and humor.
I hate nepotism/ connections being the new norm across all industries. It’s like the boomers helped their kids and then resource-hoarded for them and shut off/ tightened access for the rest of us.
Have to admit he’s great though. Fair is fair.
Also, don’t watch The Boys unless you have a strong stomach and utterly twisted sense of humor.
He really looks like Meg Ryan. But that’s recognizable only if you know who his parents are, otherwise he looks pretty nondescript. (For a second I thought he was related to Chris Colfer from Glee.)
Also, great answer on being nepo- this is the grounded answer people need to give.
I totally thought this was Chris Colfer at first.
This is the perfect response. He acknowledges his privilege, says flat out it helped him and there’s no “but” added. He did go to NYU for acting, so he took the time to be educated and get important training. That’s certainly more than most nepo babies can say.
I saw Dennis Quaid answer the “would you want your kids in the industry?” question years ago and he said something like “My son is studying acting now. He’s putting the work in, and has a really good head on his shoulders and is doing it bc he has a calling for film and storytelling.” I got the sense that Jack came it to it on his own bc he liked the process.
I think Jack’s got Meg’s elfin face but he can sound like his dad sometimes.
Literally this is all any of them have to say and people would move on. Acknowledge your privilege – that’s all anyone wants.
His “I’m inclined to agree” makes me laugh. One of the much better answers, along with the one from Allison Williams.
I couldn’t care less if he is a nepo baby or not. I just hope that he didn’t inherit that crazy, off the wall gene that runs in the Quaid family.
He’s feverently anti-Trump, if that helps.😉😉😉
Oh thank god! I like him and I was hoping that he didn’t have his father’s politics and love of Trump.
JEGEDE it helps a lot. Thank you!!!
I had no idea who his parents were, mainly because I could never remember his last name. I like that he knows that things were easier for him, but honestly, I think he’s a good actor, and am glad that he made it.
Privilege is sometimes simply a removal of roadblocks, not a negation of talent or work ethic, and Jack seems to get it. Good for him.
Nepo baby discussions remind me of discussions I’ve had with straight white men about just the tiny leg up they get because they are straight and white and men. My husband-an ally, a lifelong liberal, the works-still struggles to admit that he receives privilege because he’s a straight white man…because he was poor and has worked his way up, he feels that there is no privilege in his life, and it just is frustrating to get people to understand that privilege doesn’t negate hard work! It doesn’t mean you’re not working as hard as possible. It just means there was a few less roadblocks for you than there would be for a gay, female POC with the same talent and work ethic. Good lord.
ETA-there are some folks that do NOT work and simply coast on their privilege, but not talking about those here.
Well said. My partner is the same, and he is starting to see the differences after watching things that I have to deal with.
Love Jack as Hughie in The Boys, in my opinion he is a good actor. To bad about his MAGat dad!
I just started watching The Boys and I agree that’s he’s excellent. He’s a great match with Karl Urban.
He’s not gonna dismiss the nepo baby tag and he can’t – he has name recognition from both sides but perfect answer from him. Both things can be true – this industry is insanely hard to break into and he’s had an easier time breaking into it than most.
That is the perfect answer, and if more 2nd gen actors handled it as he did, we wouldn’t be having this discussion as much.
He’s a good actor and has done several good projects, and other than the last name I’d never know who his parents are, as I don’t think he looks like either one of them.
He and his comedy group did a sketch about this 10 years ago his “famous dad”, which people have posted along with this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0R2wKLK_Es
It’s pretty funny and shows that Jack has had a good view on this for awhile. He seems to be a good egg.
He’s such a cute one. That tall and lean and a bit gangly look I tend to like. He really is a talented actor and holds his own with his counterparts. He’s really good in The Boys and I loved him in that rom-com with Maya Erskine Plus One. I heard that he doesn’t share his father’s dreadful politics. That makes him okay in my book, as if that matters…
I loooooved him in Plus One! Like, I actually felt attracted to him while watching it.
I’ve liked him in just about everything I’ve seen him in. Even The Hunger Games, despite him having a small role in it. He’s fantastic in The Boys. He’s pretty great, quite honestly. Definitely deserves to be where he is. Emma Roberts could learn a thing or two about him.
Jack is a fantastic actor. I’v watch him in The Boys. He is going to have a great career. What a down to earth guy.
He’s so good in the Boys. He has that kind of charisma that Tom Hanks has. Not hunky leading man. But a really good character actor that you can relate too. He is going to have a great career when The Boys ends at season 5.
Dear Emma Roberts, this is how you address being a nepo baby.
He was so good in “Plus One” with Maya Erskine. He really elevated the little rom-com, as did she. I kept thinking he reminded me of someone, and was so good in it. Halfway through, I looked up his name, realized who his parents were, and got it. He looks a lot like Meg with a little of his dad mixed in. But he has great timing in the rom-com.
After that, I looked up things he’s done, and that’s when I discovered “The Boys.” He’s fantastic in it. I am finishing up Season 2 right now, trying to catch up. What an innovative series.
Well put. Good for him.