All it takes is a scan through the catalogue of films
Jack Quaid
has on his IMDb to realize he’s on the cusp of a meteoric rise. It isn’t all that surprising, however, when you look at his lineage, which stems from some of the most iconic Hollywood household names. You may recognize his moniker, inherited from his father, Dennis Quaid, and his charm from his mother, Meg Ryan. But Jack has paved his own path with memorable roles like the villainous Marvel in the mega-franchise
The Hunger Games
and as Clarke Morelle on HBO’s canceled-too-soon
Vinyl
.
His latest big-screen role in
Plus One,
opposite
Pen15
’s Maya Erskine, is a raw and sometimes funny (because isn’t that real life?) portrayal of love and friendship. It follows two friends, Ben (Quaid) and Alice (Erskine), who make a pact to be each other
’
s plus-ones (get it?) for a summer of back-to-back weddings and the all-too-relatable cringey moments that come with nuptial season. Later this month we’ll see Quaid do a sharp pivot to
The Boys
, a dark, comedic anti-superhero superhero series alongside Karl Urban and Chace Crawford (amongst a few). With big and small-screen premieres this summer, we sat down with Quaid while he was in New York for the Tribeca Film Festival to talk growing up in Hollywood, awkward wedding moments, and how these seemingly different roles have a common thread.
Did acting always feel like it was in the cards for you because of your upbringing?
“A lot of people ask, ‘Did you see what your parents did and then want to do it?’ Yes, to an extent, but I saw them doing what they loved and getting paid for it, which is just the dream in any industry. I had two amazing role models, and I knew that it was at least possible to make a living as an actor. It didn’t really hit me until middle school. I did a play that I had to audition for,
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
—I played [Nick] Bottom, and I got my first laugh onstage, and it was magic. I loved it, and I knew I wanted to do this forever. All the camaraderie that I made with that cast of kids, who were all just really diving into this hundred-year-old text. We had a director who just made acting and make-believe super magical. I think I’m always trying to get there.”
Was there anything about acting and fame that you didn’t really expect?
“Well, I wouldn’t say I’m famous. [
Laughs
] My first real big-ish role was in
The Hunger Games
, and I never expected that to happen. I never expected my first part in a movie to be this gigantic franchise. I always expected I’d be the best friend in a rom-com, but instead I was a child murderer as a teen in a movie about a dystopian future. I’m such a small part of it, but it had such a huge scale that it was a little overwhelming at first. I’m glad I had that as my first [big-ish role]—I feel like I’m ready for anything after that. It threw me into the deep end.”
[Listicle particle error: Unhandled HTML element 'big' in post 2650793338 (context: Element not in supported or skip lists) Element HTML: Plus One]
[Listicle particle error: Unhandled HTML element 'big' in post 2650793338 (context: Element not in supported or skip lists) Element HTML: The Boys]