He’s one of the so-called Nepo babies, the children of the rich and famous in Hollywood who managed to follow their A-list parents in show business careers.
But Jack Quaid claims he didn’t realize how unusual his upbringing and family were growing up as the child of stars Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan.
The 31-year-old The Boys star told People this week that his childhood felt relatively normal because so many of his friends were from the same background and also had parents who worked in the industry.
“I grew up with friends whose parents were also in the industry, so it didn’t really feel different,” he told the publication.
It wasn’t until he got older that he realized that even many of his friends didn’t have the same level of privilege given that he had two parents, both of whom were involved in Hollywood.
Abandoned: Jack Quaid, 31, told People in the latest issue that he didn’t believe in his privileged upbringing as a child of Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan until he was older; seen in August 2022
Nothing out of the ordinary: Part of the reason everything seemed normal was because his friends also had famous parents. “I grew up with friends whose parents were also in the industry, so it didn’t really feel different,” he said; Dennis and Meg seen in 1999
“But then you grow up and you realize that it’s really special that not one, but two of your parents are actors,” he continued.
“It’s only later that you realize that things are a bit abnormal.”
Born in Los Angeles, Jack attended Crossroads K-12 prep school, which since its inception in 1971 has become a popular facility for the children of Hollywood stars and other celebrities.
His alumni include Judd Apatow’s Euphoria daughter Maude Apatow, Transformers director Michael Bay, Jack Black, Zooey and Emily Deschanel, Jonah Hill, Kate Hudson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Maya Rudolph, and Liv Tyler.
He showed interest in film at an early age when he ran the Bad Movies Club in Crossroads.
After graduating, he attended New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts for three years before dropping out to focus on his burgeoning career in film and television.
He got off to a promising start in the industry with his first film role as Marvel in the 2012 blockbuster The Hunger Games and reappeared briefly a year later in the sequel Catching Fire.
Rude Awakening: “But as you grow up, you realize that’s a pretty unique thing, that not one, but two of your parents are actors,” he continued. “You only realize later that things are a bit abnormal”; Seen with mother Meg Ryan in NYC in 2011
He further increased his fame in the industry with a supporting comedy role in Steven Soderbergh’s robbery comedy Logan Lucky, which starred Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Riley Keough and Daniel Craig, who played his older convict brother.
In 2019, he rose to leading man status, starring alongside Pen15’s Maya Erskine in the romantic comedy Plus One and appearing in the ensemble cast of the 2022 sequel to Scream.
In one of his best-known projects to date, he will be seen as theoretical physicist Richard Feynman in Christopher Nolan’s historical biopic Oppenheimer.
Quaid also proved himself a capable TV star with a starring role on the HBO series Vinyl before landing another starring role on The Boys, and he also voiced a character on the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks.
His parents’ marriage was the second for Dennis – who was previously married to Halloween actress PJ Soles – and the first, and so far only, for Meg.
The pair’s love took place while working together on the 1990 neo-noir remake DOA.
They were married from 1991 until their divorce in 2001.
Alongside Jack, Meg has a daughter named Daisy True Ryan, who she adopted in 2004, and Dennis has twins Thomas and Zoe, 15, who he shares with his third wife, Kimberly Buffington.
Rising star: After his first film role in The Hunger Games (2012), he had a starring role in the romantic comedy Plus One and has had lead roles on Vinyl, The Boys and Star Trek: Lower Decks.
Children from multiple marriages: In addition to Jack, Meg has a daughter named Daisy True Ryan, who she adopted in 2004, and Dennis has twins Thomas and Zoe, 15, who he shares with his third wife Kimberly Buffington; pictured in 1998
In 2020 he married his fourth wife, Laura Savoie.
In January 2022, Jack told People that his parents had never been a major source of advice for navigating Hollywood.
“They don’t really give me advice.” I never asked her, “How should I act this scene?” he said.
He also pointed out that their advice might not have helped much because the way the industry works today is “so different that it worked for them back then.”