Jack Quaid is a nepo baby and he doesn’t shy away from it.
As the son of actors Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan, Jack, 32, knows exactly how fortunate he is as an actor himself.
“I am an immensely privileged person, was able to get representation pretty early on, and that’s more than half the battle,” he told the Daily Beast in an interview published on Wednesday, July 10. “I knew the door was open for me in a lot of ways that it’s just not for a lot of actors. And I’ve just tried to work as hard as I possibly can to prove that I deserve to walk through that door.”
The Boys star is also aware that his privilege grows when he’s considering a role in a romantic comedy, given he’s the son of the “undisputed queen of rom-coms.” (While Jack has often chosen roles in genres, he does have one romance film to his name: 2019’s Plus One, which he starred in alongside Maya Erskine.)
Jack Quaid looked like the spitting image of dad Dennis Quaid as the father-son duo made a rare public appearance together. Dennis, 69, was photographed with Jack, 31, at a Golden Globes afterparty on Sunday, January 7, which was hosted by talent agency UTA. Dennis kept it casual in a black shirt and matching jacket. […]
“So if that’s in the rom-com space, it’s got to be different enough, and I need to work my ass off,” he said.
Ironically, it’s Ryan who tried to defend her son from the nepo baby moniker. Speaking to Glamour last November, she pushed back on the term, saying it discounts the work he has put in to his career.
“That nepo stuff is so dismissive of his work ethic, his gifts, and how sensitive he is to the idea of his privilege,” she told the outlet at the time.
Jack, for his part, appreciated his mom having his back — but also pointed out that she wasn’t denying his privilege.
AOL’s instant messaging might be a thing of the past, but You’ve Got Mail has never gone out of style. The 1998 rom-com stars Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks as rival bookstore owners. Ryan’s character, Kathleen Kelly, owned The Shop Around the Corner, while Hanks’ Joe Fox founded the Fox Books chain, which was putting […]
“My first thought was like, she’s being a mom. She’s being a loving mom,” he told the Daily Beast of Ryan’s comments. “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.”
Regardless, Jack has carved out a career for himself in both film and TV. He currently stars in Prime Video series The Boys, which is currently airing its fourth season, and landed a major role in 2023’s Scream. He’s also due to appear in upcoming thriller films, Companion and Novacaine, both set for release in 2025.
Given everything he has on his plate, Jack knows the nepo baby accusations are going to keep following him.
“No matter what I do, people are going to call attention to it,” he said.
