Why Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid Weren’t Eager for Son Jack Quaid to Pursue Acting

• Jack Quaid said in an interview that his parents Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid “weren’t initially super psyched about” him following in their footsteps
• The Boys star said the “real reason” he wanted to get into acting had to do with a personal passion for it
• His mom and dad ultimately “understood and were very supportive, so that I’m super grateful for”

Jack Quaid‘s movie-star mom and dad Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid weren’t always on board with him following in their Hollywood footsteps.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Friday, Dec. 27, the 32-year-old — who has two movies slated for release in early 2025, Companion and Novocaine — said, “With my parents, I told them I wanted to be an actor and they understood what that meant.”

“They weren’t initially super psyched about it because they knew how tough it was for them, so they were like, ‘Oh jeez, of course we have another one,’ ” Jack added. “But ultimately they understood and were very supportive, so that I’m super grateful for.”

He went on to say that the “real reason” he wanted to get into acting had to do with a personal passion for it, explaining, “I don’t know how I would have survived mentally in the entertainment industry if I didn’t truly love what I did.”

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“If I did this just to be a famous person or to have any kind of clout, I would have been done with this a long time ago. I had to find the love of this before I did it,” Jack said.

The Scream actor noted of his connection to the profession through Ryan, 63, and Dennis, 70, “A lot of people would naturally assume that I wanted to do this because both my parents did it, and that didn’t play no part.”

But “the biggest [career] benefit” he has from his mother and father, “among many,” Jack told THR, “is that they were proof it was possible to make a living as an actor.”

“I’ve been to drama school and talked with my friends there and most of them have the same story: They told their folks that they wanted to be an actor and their folks said, ‘I don’t think that that’s the right path for you,’ or, ‘Why don’t you have a backup plan?’ ” he added.

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Jack went to Crossroads School in Santa Monica, Calif., a high school with alumni like Kate Hudson, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black. He later attended NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts for three years.

The Boys actor’s onscreen debut came in 2012’s The Hunger Games, where he played Marvel, a competitive tribute from wealthy District 1.

Growing up with Ryan and Dennis as parents, Jack spent a lot of time on film sets when he wasn’t watching movies and cartoons at home.

“I grew up with friends who also had parents in the industry, so it didn’t really feel different,” he told PEOPLE in 2023. “But then you grow up, and you realize that’s a pretty unique thing, that not one but two of your parents are actors. You don’t realize that things are slightly abnormal until later.”