Jack Quaid clearly showed his talent in the Hunger Games, but he became popular due to the TV series "The Boys" – a superhero black comedy in which he got the main role of Huey, a simple guy who challenged the insidious "supers".
Jack Quaid
Childhood and family
Jack Quaid is the son of Hollywood stars Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid. He was born on April 24, 1992 in Los Angeles. A few years later, his mother was awarded actress of the year for her role in "Sleepless in Seattle", and his father played in the fantasy "Dragonheart".
Jack Quaid as a baby
Jack's childhood years were spent in the home of his star parents in Los Angeles, but when he turned 9, they got divorced. Dennis Quaid could not forgive his wife for having an affair with actor Russell Crowe.
Jack Quaid with his parents
Despite the unpleasant breakup, the Hollywood stars were able to stay friends and both participated in Jack's upbringing. But for the most part he lived with his mother. "I admit that my upbringing was not quite normal," Jack said later. By the way, the boy realized that his parents were famous actors only when the entire media started covering their divorce.
Jack Quaid during school years
Jack does not consider himself merely an extension of his parents and is adamant that even if his mom and dad were not Hollywood stars, he would still come into acting sooner or later. Even in his school years, he participated in a comedy club, tried his hand at stand-up. His theater stage debut was a role in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in the school drama club. After graduating high school, he entered New York University.
Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid
Unlike many acting couples, Dennis and Meg took a neutral position and did not try to influence their son's choice. Until he turned 18, they forbade him to participate in auditions, and now Jack is grateful to them for that. But when in 2012 he announced his desire to audition for the action fantasy "The Hunger Games", his mother and father replied "Great! Go ahead!", although they secretly hoped that their son would not follow in their footsteps.
First roles
In the blockbuster "The Hunger Games" (2012), Jack got the role of Marvel, a young tributary from the First District. He was the first of the final eight to die. Leven Rambin played his playmate Tiara.
In 2013, the film was awarded six People's Choice Awards and five awards from MTV Movie Awards, but while the main stars of the franchise were immediately talked about, Quaid, whose character died in the first part, had to wait another five years for his time to shine.
In 2013, Jack along with like-minded people founded the sketch group Sasquatch Comedy. Their videos appeared on their YouTube channel until mid-2017, then the idea stalled due to Quaid's busy schedule.
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In 2014, the young Quaid partnered with Sean William Scott and Kyle Gallner in the melodrama "Just Before I Go" directed by Courtney Cox. The picture was warmly received by film critics, because it offered plenty to laugh at and something to think about.
As Jack said in an interview, at the beginning of his film career, what he sought was not popularity, but rather his parents recognizing his acting talent. The young actor received such recognition in 2015, when Meg Ryan invited him to play in the drama "Ithaca" (her last film role by that moment).
Jack Quaid in Ithaca
The comedy-crime drama "Logan's Luck" also belongs to the early stage of Jack Quaid's creative career, in which he played the role of the not very smart brother of Daniel Craig’s character, and showed potential as a comedic actor.
The heyday of a career
In 2016, Martin Scorsese's TV series "Vinyl" was released, which became his personal declaration of love for the great era of the psychedelic 70s.
Jack Quaid in Vinyl
In this atmospheric series, Jack played Clark Morello, a music label manager. He was terribly nervous during filming, realizing that he had the rare good fortune to play Scorsese himself in the film. Jack also said that if he saw Mick Jagger (who co-wrote the script) on the set, he would hardly be able to cope with the excitement. He still had a chance to meet the legendary rocker, but after the filming was completed, at the presentation of the series.
«Clark is the least cool guy in the entire record company. But it's kind of funny. He's this lone island amidst an ocean of sex, drugs and rock and roll,» was Jack’s take on his character, «he's a fool who just got lucky to work in this really historic place».
While the rest of the actors of the series drew inspiration from the biographies of real personalities (Elvis Presley, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, etc.), Jack was inspired by himself: "Clark is the person I would become if I had a regular desk job."
Jack talking about Vinyl
Scorsese's series was appreciated not only by those who were lucky enough to live through that rebellious era, but also by a generation of practical millennials. An excellent soundtrack, armor-piercing dramaturgy and straightforward jokes, combined with excellent acting and Master Scorsese’s famed close-ups - this was the key to the movie’s success.
In 2018, the eponymous film adaptation of the popular game "Rampage" was released. Jack was part of the secondary cast, however, having managed to breathe impressive life into his character.
A snapshot from Rampage
In the 2019 romantic melodrama "Plus One", Jack played in a duet with Maya Erskine. The characters of the young actors have known each other for many years, they are lonely and, in order to avoid the sympathetic looks of mutual friends who invited them both to the wedding, pretend to be a couple in love. At the beginning of the film, Ben - Jack's character - seems to be a selfish millennial, but the actor so masterfully conveyed his loneliness that both the audience and film critics noted it.
The Boys
In the summer of 2019, the TV series "The Boys", based on the comic book of the same name, was released on Amazon’s streaming service. It was after this black comedy with elements of an action movie that shoved Jack Quaid into the general public’s spotlight.
Jack Quade in The Boys
The series parodies the genre of superhero cinema that has already become sickeningly familiar. The plot takes place in a world similar to ours, with one difference: superheroes have become commonplace in it, with all the supers in "The Boys" having very disgusting personalities.
Quaid's character, an unremarkable salesman in an electronics store named Hughie, loses a loved one because of one of the most "stellar" superheroes and, after meeting the brutal character of Karl Urban, begins to plan his revenge.
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In the comics that serve as the source material, Huey's appearance clearly resembles that of a young Simon Pegg. Actually, the Briton was offered the role of Huey first, but he refused and ended up playing the father of the main character.
«This year [while the series was being filmed – zoomboola.com] was just crazy. I'm incredibly happy. The fact that millions have watched our work... I don't know, it's some kind of miracle,» Jack commented on the success of the series.
Immediately after the release of "The Boys", the series was renewed for a second season, which was released in the fall of 2020.
Personal life of Jack Quaid
Protected from excessive attention ever since he was a child, Jack does not like to open up about his personal life all that much. You won’t find the name of the young actor in any scandalous chronicles. His fans claim that at the beginning of his career he was in a romantic relationship with Eve Hewson, the daughter of U2 leader Bono.
At the end of 2017, it became known that a young black-haired actress Lizzy McGroder became Jack's new girlfriend. The lovers post joint photos on their Instagram pages, they live together along with their two cats, a red and a gray one, who wait for them to come back from filming.
Jack Quaid and his girlfriend Lizzy McGroder
Jack Quaid now
The actor is a huge fan of "Star Wars" and dreams of getting any role in this space franchise: "Anyone. A droid or a grain of sand on Tatooine. This is very important to me." While his dream has not come true, in 2020 he will voice Ensign Boimler, one of the main characters of the upcoming animated series in the Star Trek franchise universe ("Star Trek: Lower Decks").
At the same time, Jack starred in the series "Solos" from Amazon Prime, which touched upon every aspect of the problems of social isolation, and received one of the central roles in the horror film "Scream" (2022).
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In May 2022, the third season of "The Boys" was released; it was immediately renewed for a fourth one. And according to the producers of the series, the story is designed for at least five.
