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Louise Thomas
Editor
The Boys star Jack Quaid has made a surprising – and refreshing – revelation about his career.
Over the years, many stars have rallied against the suggestion they have achieved Hollywood success due to having famous parents.
Tom Hanks, whose son Colin is an actor, argued that “‘it doesn’t matter what our last names are” when it comes to securing roles, while Emma Roberts, the son of Eric Roberts – who himself has a famous sister he’s not allowed to talk about – claimed she has lost roles due to her famous family.
However, there are some stars who don’t mind the claim, with Maya Hawke, the daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, recently said she ”totally did” get her role in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood “for nepotistic reasons”.
Now, Quaid, who plays Hughie Campbell in Amazon’s Prime Video series The Boys, has said he is “inclined to agree” with the suggestion he’s a “nepo baby”.
Quaid, who is the son of Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan, told The Daily Beast: “I am an immensely privileged person, was able to get representation pretty early on, and that’s more than half the battle. I knew the door was open for me in a lot of ways that it’s just not for a lot of actors.”
The actor said he has “just tried to work as hard as I possibly can to prove that I deserve to walk through that door”.
Last year, When Harry Met Sally star Ryan defended her son, telling Glamour: “That nepo stuff is so dismissive of his work ethic, his gifts, and how sensitive he is to the idea of his privilege.”
While Quaid praised his mum for her words, he said he disagrees with her that the “nepo baby” claim “undermines” his talent.
He said: “My first thought was like, she’s being a mom. She’s being a loving mom. 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.
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“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. So no, I don’t think she was trying to say that I’m not a privileged person. She knows. She must know. I think she was being a mom.”
Quaid made his debut in 2012 blockbuster The Hunger Games and, in recent years, has appeared in Plus One, Oppenheimer and the most recent Scream film. He also starred in 40 episodes of Star Trek: Lower Decks.
But it’s his role as Hughie in The Boys that saw him generate a fanbase. In the series, his character is part of a team of civilians attempting to bring down increasingly deranged superheroes, including Antony Starr’s Homelander.
Earlier this week, his co-star Erin Moriarty, who plays Hughie’ girlfriend Starlight, expertly shut down trolls online after facing nasty criticism over her appearance.
