“It’s so good to see you again,” beamed Jack Quaid. The actor is booked and busy: only a month ago I spoke to him for the press run for his sci-fi horror, Companion. Now he’s previewing upcoming action-comedy, Novocaine over Zoom from Toronto.
He’s on set for the final season of The Boys and preparing for the end of an era. After seven years and five seasons, Quaid will let go of Hugh ‘Hughie’ Campbell, the de-facto protagonist of the stupendously successful superhero romp. It’s a bittersweet feeling as The Boys has been “life-changing” for the actor. As one door closes, another opens as he begins his new era as a Hollywood leading man.
As the son of acting legends Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan, the 32-year-old has been immersed in the movie industry from a young age. With such parents, his vocation might seem inevitable. However, he recognised from the start that he needed to forge his own path. The actor made his film debut with a small role in The Hunger Games as the antagonistic Marvel. He had to wait another few years for his career to blossom with major roles in Vinyl, Logan Lucky, Scream and, of course, The Boys.
Next up, the actor showcases his action credentials as Nathan Caine in Novocaine. The film follows a man whose inability to feel pain becomes an advantage when he must rescue the girl of his dreams from kidnappers. In the City, we call that Tuesday.
Photography by Griffin Lipson | Styling by Evan Simonitsch | Grooming by Jessica Ortiz
Square Mile: It’s only less than a month since Companion and now you’re starring in Novocaine. You’re a busy guy!
Jack Quaid: I know, it’s so good to see you again. It’s good that I’m involved in projects that I genuinely enjoy talking about so that’s the good news.
SM: What excited you about Novocaine?
JQ: A lot of things. One, I love action movies so much. I still remember seeing John Wick 4 in the theatres. I loved [the first] John Wick but there was something about number four that was a noticeable step-up in the filmmaking and Keanu Reeves deserves an Oscar for stunts; the stuff he’s able to pull off where it’s in character, it’s so impressive. He’s been doing it for years so that ballet and choreography that he’s able to achieve is so cool and insane. On a talent level, I can appreciate it so much.
I loved the action movies of the early 1980s where the action is impressive and cool but a big reason why we are there and care about the action is because we care about the character. And I love that Novocaine is a character-based action where we get to pull off some cool stunts.
I’m not Keanu Reeves and I’m not Bruce Willis but I like that this movie allows me to be an action hero of sorts because I don’t think people think of me as someone who kicks ass. But I like that this movie is about me getting my ass kicked and how many times I can keep getting back up. That’s the way [the directors] Dan Berk and Bobby Olsen pitched it to me. I thought it was such a cool, fun and inspiring action movie where we also get to have some comedy in it as well. All the stars aligned on this one so I had to be a part of it.
SM: It’s an action movie but you have this character that’s so out of his depth and that’s where the comedy comes from…
JQ: Absolutely. He’s not really a fighter, he’s just a guy who has this disorder that makes it so he can keep progressing. He’s not a trained fighter – it’s not like he’s an ex-assassin – he’s just a normal dude.
SM: What was the fight choreography like for Novocaine? This guy can’t fight but you’re in these crazy fight situations.
JQ: That was fascinating. First of all, our stunt team was incredible so I want to give them their flowers, they were amazing. They choreographed these incredible sequences that were so fun to do.
SM: What was the biggest challenge in the choreography?
JQ: To find a way to fight like the character. Nate is not a trained fighter but he also has this genetic disorder where he can’t feel pain so that was the biggest challenge – not showing pain on my face. I’ve done other fight sequences and every time you get hit, you want to sell that, you want to wince. Unmarrying myself from that instinct was huge. If I get punched in the face, my head still moves but I can’t show the pain on my face.
I hope this comes across in the movie that Nate has to keep checking himself, he has to visually see the damage to confirm he was hit. It was an amazing challenge.
SM: How did you get into shape?
JQ: I definitely pushed myself physically more than I ever have for this movie in terms of the training for it. I got into the best shape in my life, it’s all gone now. I didn’t want to look like an action movie star necessarily but it was for the stamina because I knew I would have to do it day-in, day-out. My God, I had such fun doing it.
SM: This feels like the type of movie that people want to see at the moment with all the turmoil out there. Sometimes there’s no better feeling in the world than unwinding and watching an action-comedy in the cinemas.
JQ: Some of my favourite movies are action-comedies. Sorry, I have to do this, I’m going to bring up my Letterboxd for some of the movies that I used for inspiration for this. [Gets out phone.] We have Nobody, which I thought was incredible just in terms of this average-ish guy fighting. We have The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, not an action movie but Nate is a person who hasn’t experienced the world and is keeping himself at arms-length from truly living his life. He has to because of his disorder but that was really helpful.
A lot of Steve Martin, just in terms of the longing that he’s able to capture. I also watched Hard Boiled for the first time, the John Woo movie. It’s just one of the best action movies I’ve seen in my life and it’s got very funny moments. Die Hard and Lethal Weapon are obviously in there too because they are character-based action movies. Those are some of my favourite movies ever, so it was cool to be in a movie that hit those notes.
SM: I love how open you are with the inspirations for characters, not many actors go into that detail.
JQ: Usually, it’s a lot of music and I use a lot of music in my work. I do have a Nathan Caine playlist, though – and that was amazing. Weirdly, this is the first movie where I’ve used other movies as a way to influence me more than music, because it’s such a specific genre and I knew the exact tone we were going for.
It’s not like I’m watching a movie and copying it but it’s just to get me in the mood for the type of movie we were working on. You can’t play a genre and decide on the day when we are shooting that I’ll do the scene like I’m in an action-comedy from the 1980s. You don’t know what the movie looks like but you can have references of what it could look like.
SM: Nathan Caine is more heroic than Josh in Companion. What freedom do you find when playing the villain?
JQ: You get a lot of freedom as the villain. Novocaine allowed me a lot of freedom too physically; it’s a very physical performance. Physical comedy matters a lot to me and it was an opportunity to do that. As a villain, there is freedom but it’s a different box. It’s definitely a lot more fun, though. Though Josh was so insecure; he was the most insecure character I’ve ever played in my life.
You said the word ‘heroic’ and I think Nate was one of the more heroic characters I’ve played because he’s risking everything to save someone that he loves and he won’t stop. It’s not a question in his mind. He’s a person who has a disorder that keeps him at a distance from people which could make someone bitter and lonely but he’s one of the sweetest characters that I’ve ever played and he does not let that get him down, which is really inspiring and cool.
You have more fun as the villain sometimes but I had more fun as Nate because I just like him and want to hang out with him.
SM: Looking at both characters, Josh is insecure and Nathan is positive and heroic. When you’re immersed in a role, are there any traits that linger after filming wraps?
JQ: There is a truth in letting your characters go. With Josh, if he did stay with me then he went away. I had enough time to get rid of him. Not that I became him in any way in my real life, or at least I hope I didn’t, thank God. Josh was someone I had to find an empathy for and eventually I found it. Nate was someone who I immediately emphasised with from the get go.
That’s where I’ve been luckiest in my career, that I’ve been able to play heroes and villains and that switch is really satisfying and a great palette cleanser. Whether you’re going from a hero to a villain or vice-versa. It’s a great way to clear the deck and play a drastically different character.
I don’t feel like I’m repeating myself either and that is great because I don’t like that feeling at all – I like to be playing a different note than I’ve ever played before which, granted, it’s hard to do sometimes and there’s no other choice but to repeat myself. But, the more I can do that, the happier I am.
SM: Is there a particular genre or character that you’d like to explore next?
JQ: Oh yes. I feel like I’ve been very lucky in the genre space and genre movies are my favourite thing so I don’t necessarily want to call my shot with that, I’ll see what happens. In terms of type of character, I want to play people who are slightly off, immediately. Not necessarily scary but I want to play more eccentric people and give that a shot.
I’ll put it out there, I know it’s sci-fi and I’ve done sci-fi but I’ve loved Star Wars for the longest time. A big reason why I’m an actor is because I fell in love with storytelling through A New Hope. I don’t want to call my shot but I will say that would be great and I’ll release that into the universe and maybe nothing will come of it but who knows?
SM: Another versatile actor is your dad [Dennis Quaid]. Do you remember any specific piece of advice from your parents as you were entering the daunting world of Hollywood?
JQ: I really tried to avoid asking them for advice. I needed to figure it all out on my own. Obviously, there were little things like, ‘What’s a table read like?’ But nothing major, to be honest with you. No matter what anyone tells you, it doesn’t really prepare you. I had been on sets visiting my parents but then I remember being on The Hunger Games for the first time as an actor and none of that prepared me for this. It is a different world.
I recently did this with my partner: she was working on this movie and I was visiting the set. It’s an odd experience visiting a set as opposed to working on set. No one was rude to me but there was a feeling that I didn’t belong there. It’s like a well-tuned machine and every person has a job and I’m just there watching. It’s slightly odd. I remember even feeling that as a kid but there’s something different about being on set and having a job to do and being expected to pull it off that no one can quite prepare you for.
SM: The Hunger Games must have been a daunting experience as it was a behemoth of a franchise and your film debut?
JQ: That was crazy because I was 19, I auditioned for it during spring break from my freshman year at college. I finished my freshman year, went to North Carolina to shoot, the movie wrapped and then I went right back to my sophomore year. It was so strange but so cool because that was a huge studio movie but it was all I really knew at that time. I knew the books were big but everyone was around the same age and we were all in the woods. It’s such a cliché but it really did feel like summer camp in many ways because I was literally gone for the summer from school and I was with people more or less my age.
Just to be able to see Jennifer Lawrence work at that point in her career was so inspiring and so cool. To watch her create an iconic character gave me unbelievable insight, knowledge and opportunity. As a fan, such a cool thing to see her do and to see what she did after that. It was such a great experience that I wouldn’t trade it for the world. It was daunting, I remember being very nervous but it was the best way for me to enter the movie-making world. My part wasn’t huge but I was on set a lot. I was able to see great people do great work all the time.
SM: From one huge franchise to another, you’re currently in Toronto filming the final season of The Boys. How are you feeling? It must be bittersweet?
JQ: It’s very bittersweet, it’s insane. It’s changed my life for the better. Ever since season one, everything changed in the best way. I’m a huge fan of everything genre and I always wanted to be part of a superhero project. I remember someday dreaming of being in the MCU but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I’d be on the ground floor of something that now is spawning new spin-offs. That’s crazy. I never thought I’d be in the first iteration of a universe that’s its own thing.
The fact that I got to play in the superhero space with these people on this show was so special. Right now in Toronto it’s freezing and we are working outside and that’s not the most fun, but I know by the end of it I’ll be weeping because this is the greatest group of people, they truly have become my family. I wouldn’t trade this for the world. I’m even getting emotional talking about it right now.
It’s going to be weird when it’s over but I’m just grateful that it’s here. Despite the temperatures, I am trying to look around and really appreciate everybody, not just the cast but the crew and people who have been with us since season one. I love them all so it’s going to be strange to say goodbye but I’m grateful for everything.
SM: I saw that you took some of the cast and crew of The Boys to the cinema to see Companion. I love that camaraderie.
JQ: It’s unbelievable, it was so sweet that happened. Yeah, it was Laz [Alonso], Nate [Mitchell] and Karen [Fukuhara] from the cast but also Emma, Max and Renee from the crew as well. I love that there are so many of us out here and we just get to hang out during our off-time. It’s truly great. There’s a camaraderie there, it’s five seasons but it’s seven years all things considered from the time I was cast. I just know that these people will be in my life forever and I’m very thankful for that.
SM: Last and most important question… Did you manage to get tickets to see Billy Joel in Toronto? [Hughie from The Boys is a massive Billy Joel fan.]
JQ: I am working on it. It’s going to happen. I haven’t officially got them yet but I have a way in and we are going to figure this out. I will definitely be there though.
SM: Fingers crossed, I hope to see it on your Instagram story!
JQ: Thanks for rooting for me on this, I appreciate it.
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Companion is in cinemas now. Novocaine is in cinemas from 28 March.
