Jack Quaid is best known for his role as Hughie Campbell in the Prime TV series “The Boys,” but you may have also seen him in blockbuster films like “The Hunger Games” and “Scream.” If you’re wondering when he’ll hit the big screen again, it’s actually very soon because Jack is set to appear in the star-studded film “Oppenheimer,” which hits theaters in July.
Jack has definitely come a long way since making his film debut in 2012, and if his name sounds familiar to you, that’s because he comes from a famous family. Jack’s father is seasoned actor Dennis Quaid, whose career spans decades and credits include “The Big Easy,” “The Parent Trap,” and “The Day After Tomorrow.” Jack’s mother, Meg Ryan, has an equally impressive résumé, as she’s been in a bunch of our favorite romantic comedies like “When Harry Met Sally,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” and “You’ve Got Mail.”
It’s no surprise his parents actually met on the set of a movie. Dennis and Meg first shared the screen together in the 1987 film “Innerspace” and then reunited a year later for “D.O.A.” After falling in love, they tied the knot in February 1991 and welcomed Jack in April 1992. The couple separated in 2000, and since then, Dennis has had two more marriages. The actor married real-estate agent Kimberly Buffington in 2004 and welcomed fraternal twins Thomas and Zoe Quaid in 2007. Following Dennis and Buffington’s divorce in 2018, he married Laura Savoie – a Ph.D. student at the University of Texas – in 2020.
As for Meg, she briefly dated actor Russell Crowe for a few months in 2000 and then had an off-and-on relationship with singer John Mellencamp from 2011 to 2019, per People. Although she never had children with either star, Meg adopted her daughter, Daisy True, from China in 2006, so in total, Jack has three siblings.
Despite the fact that Dennis and Meg broke up, the pair appear to be on good terms. Dennis was asked about his current relationship with his ex during a 2018 appearance on “Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen,” and he responded by saying, “We’re friendly. Obviously, we did a really good job coparenting because look at the result. Jack, he’s doing great. So proud of him.”
Interested in learning more about Jack’s family? Keep reading for all the details about his parents and how they supported him as an aspiring actor.
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Jack Quaid Always Wanted to Be an Actor
So, what does Dennis think about his son following in his footsteps? While appearing on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” in October 2020, the star said that he and his ex-wife never pushed Jack to become an actor, and it was just something that he naturally gravitated towards. “He had a video camera in his hand when he was like 4 years old, making his own videos and stuff,” he said. “Ever since he was a kid, it was kinda obvious that he was gonna do [acting].”
Dennis added that instead of Jack asking his parents to help him break into the acting industry, he sought out opportunities on his own. He first got acting experience by participating in high school drama productions. After graduating, Jack attended New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and during his sophomore year, he booked the role of Marvel in “The Hunger Games.”
Of course, Dennis was so proud of his son for taking initiative in making his dreams a reality. “My agent wanted to represent him, and he said, ‘No, I want to do it on my own,'” Dennis recalled about Jack’s early acting career. “And then, of course, he gets an agent on his own, and his first movie is ‘Hunger Games.’ Then he gets in [Martin] Scorsese’s ‘Vinyl’ on television, which was the hottest show there was. Now he’s doing ‘The Boys,’ which is the hottest thing on streaming. It’s a great show.”
Dennis ended his chat with Clarkson by telling her, “Even more than an actor, [Jack’s] really turned out to be a really fine man.”
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Jack Quaid Used to Visit His Parents on the Set of Their Films
Jack first got a glimpse of the acting life thanks to visiting his parents on the set of their films growing up. In a January 2022 interview with People, Jack revealed he would spend “hours” with his parents on location. “I wasn’t taking any pointers or anything. A kid can’t handle how slow a set moves, so I would watch a couple of takes and then go to the craft service truck and try to steal all the candy I could!” he said, adding that the behind-the-scenes process taught him an important lesson. “Get used to waiting. You’re in your trailer a lot, you’re anticipating going to set, and sometimes it just takes a long time. So bring a book, bring a show you like to watch – just chill. It’ll give you time to relax.”
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Jack Quaid Says He's Never Asked His Parents For Acting Advice
In that same People interview, Jack revealed that he doesn’t go to his parents for advice when it comes to acting. “I’ve never asked them, ‘How should I perform this scene?'” he said. His reason for doing things on his own makes so much sense. The star said it all comes down to how much the industry has changed since his parents first began their careers. “The way that this business works is so much different than the way that it worked back then for them,” he said. “I’m experiencing some things for the first time, like working on a movie set during COVID.”
While Jack didn’t rely on his parents for kickstarting his acting career, he’s thankful they always encouraged him to do whatever he wanted. “It’s lucky that I got to grow up saying, ‘Hey I want to be an actor’ and they understood that,” Jack added. “I didn’t grow up in a house that didn’t quite understand what that meant, or a house that would tell me, ‘Oh, that probably isn’t the wisest choice. You should have a backup plan.’ Like, I had the privilege, and I was lucky to have people that understood what that meant and supported me going into it.”
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Jack Quaid Prepared For His First Rom-Com by Watching "When Harry Met Sally"
Jack’s mother is a rom-com queen. In 2019, he starred in his very own rom-com called “Plus One” alongside “PEN15” star Maya Erskine. While promoting the film on “Today” that July, Jack said that after landing the role, he finally worked up the courage to watch one of Ryan’s movies that he’s avoided for years: “When Harry Met Sally.”
“When your mom has one of the most famous orgasm scenes of all time, you tend to avoid that movie as a child. You know that very specific problem that we all have,” he said. Jack explained he finally watched the movie for “research” for “Plus One,” and he couldn’t help but “tear up” at his mother’s performance because he was “so proud” of her. “I called her up and told her,” he said. “She is amazing in it.”
