2025: The Year Jack Quaid Becomes a Movie Star
It’s become a common refrain in the last decade: “They just don’t make movie stars like they used to.” Sure, every movie stars somebody, but audiences throughout the 2010s seemed more interested in properties and recognizable characters more so than the people that played them. There were exceptions, of course, such as Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds’s meteoric rises, but very few actors could be relied on any more to consistently open a film wide on the brand of their name alone. If the last couple of years have showed any trends in moviegoing, it’s that audiences are starting to grow hungry for real stars again. Glen Powell had a terrific explosion in the last few years since getting a plum role in Top Gun: Maverick, while his Anything But You co-star Sydney Sweeney is using her cultural dominance to work on a number of interesting projects studios are selling based on her name-brand recognition alone.
Enter Jack Quaid.
Son of Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid (a fact that’s brought up in seemingly every profile an interview with him), Jack Quaid has an innately likable personality and a face that allows him to play both nerdier types as well as more handsome presences, even going so far as to play villainous slimeballs in films like the Scream franchise. And while he’s been acting professionally since a supporting part in the first Hunger Games back in 2012, it looks like he’s on track to become a bona fide movie star in 2025.
First up, this weekend, you can catch him on screen in Companion, a thriller with some sci-fi elements whose entire marketing campaign seems built around word-of-mouth and the fact that audiences ought to go into this movie as blind as possible. In the film, Quaid plays what appears to be a romantic lead in love with Iris, the female lead of the film, but as anybody who’s seen even the briefest of trailers can surmise: Everything isn’t quite as it seems with this idyllic couple.
The twists in the film allow Quaid to occupy a couple different parts of his screen presence: He can be an affable guy, someone who audiences want to spend time with, but he’s also got a dark side that his handsome exterior easily conceals. Similar to the twists and turns in Barbarian (the previous film from the producers of Companion), the filmmakers would not be able to sell the story turns if they had not cast a performer who’s able to use his established screen presence to play against audience expectations.
And speaking of expectations, perhaps the biggest gamble yet on Quaid’s stardom is in the film Novocaine, opening this March. Novocaine is a high-concept action comedy, based around a main character named Nathan Caine, who has a rare disorder that keeps him from feeling any pain. When his girlfriend is held hostage in a bank robbery, he uses his unique skills to track down the kidnappers and rescue her. In the 90s or even the 2000s, this would be the kind of script that would attract a major movie star, someone adept at both action and comedy. Instead, it’s being used as a testing ground for a number of young talents that deserve bigger recognition - such as Quaid, Amber Midthunder, Ray Nicholson, and Jacob Batalon.
While the film hasn’t been released or screened yet, the commercials make it seem like the filmmakers spared no expense - showcasing dynamite action, hilarious comedy, and the romance between Quaid and Midthunder like it’s a movie that costs 3 times the budget that this one did. Most importantly, it seems to make a convincing argument for why Jack Quaid should become a movie star. The trailers and promos for Novocaine show that he’s indeed very funny, but also adept at handling action and romantic scenes.
Similar to Glen Powell’s 2024, Jack Quaid’s performances in 2025 are going to capture a wide range of emotion, character, and personality. How general audiences will receive these films is yet to be seen, but don’t be surprised if your audiences are clamoring for more Jack Quaid before too long.