Welcome to Actor Spotlight, a feature series examining the careers and impacts of talented performers working in film and television. The latest edition focuses on Jack Quaid, who currently stars as Hughie Campbell on The Boys.
Be sure to check out our previous Actor Spotlight features on stars such as Jensen Ackles, Jacob Bertrand and more.
Jack Quaid made his feature film debut in 2012, playing “Marvel” in The Hunger Games.
Since then, the now 32-year-old’s other movies include smash-hits Scream and Oppenheimer.
A multi-time San Diego Comic Con panelist, Quaid has plenty of “nerdy” projects under belt.
This includes a starring role as “Hughie Campbell” on hit Prime Video series The Boys since 2019.
He is also prolific in the animation world, with notable performances in Star Trek: Lower Decks and My Adventures with Superman.
In addition to being the son of Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan, he’s also the nephew to Oscar-nominated actor Randy Quaid.
The Hunger Games (2012)
Ithaca (2015)
“Marvel” (The Hunger Games)
“Marcus Macauley” (Ithaca)
In his big screen debut, Quaid starred in the film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ hit novel The Hunger Games.
Viewers despised his character, Marvel, after he ruthlessly murdered Rue (Amandla Stenberg), the youngest tribute competing. Years later, Quaid was still “apologising” for his character’s actions.
The star-studded star cast included Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci and Donald Sutherland, among others.
Although, spoiler, Marvel was killed by Katniss — Quaid reprised the role for a cameo appearance in the sequel, Catching Fire, released in 2013.
Three years later, Jack Quaid had a supporting role in Ithaca which was directed by his mother Meg Ryan.
In this 1940s-set drama, his character is serving in the Second World War.
The plot follows 14-year-old Homer (Alex Neustaedter), younger brother to Quaid’s Marcus. He is trying to support their remaining family members by delivering telegrams.
In addition, the cast featured acclaimed actors such as Tom Hanks, Sam Shepard and Hamish Linklater.
Logan Lucky (2017)
“Fish Bang”
With Logan Lucky, Quaid added another prestigious director to his resumé in Steven Soderbergh.
His character is one of two younger brothers to criminal Joe Bang (Daniel Craig). Brian Gleeson co-stars as the other brother, “Sam Bang”.
The film’s storyline centres on the Logan family, who attempt to rob the Charlotte Motor Speedway whilst avoiding security officers and the FBI.
Written by Rebecca Blunt, the ensemble cast also included Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Hilary Swank, Katie Holmes and Sebastian Stan, to name just a few.
The Boys (2019 – present)
“Hughie Campbell“
In 2019, Quaid joined the main cast of (then-new) Prime Video series The Boys. The show is adapted from graphic novels of the same name, written by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson.
His character, Hughie Campbell is known as “Wee Hughie” in the comics. He hails from Scotland and visually designed to resemble Simon Pegg. As a twist of fate, Pegg would play Quaid’s on-screen father in the TV series many years later.
The Boys features Jack Quaid as a leading man, following supporting turns in his earlier projects. He receives second billing in the show’s credits, after Karl Urban who stars as Billy Butcher.
When first introduced, Hughie worked in a computer hardware store. That all changed when his girlfriend Robin (Jess Salgueiro) was accidentally killed by the “supe” speedster A-Train (Jessie T. Usher).
Quaid has seen the character through becoming a vigilante, developing a relationship with supe Annie January/Starlight (Erin Moriarty), as well as many more adventures throughout four seasons.
In an interview with Collider, Quaid discussed Hughie’s dynamics with Butcher and Annie in Season 4.
He said: “He’s a puppy dog. He’s loyal to a fault sometimes, and he doesn’t wanna see Butcher kicked out or demoted, but he can also see it from the group’s perspective. He’s very much thrown in the middle of that.
“But on the other side of the coin, Annie has joined The Boys and left The Seven. I think that’s a really great thing for Hughie because he knows that she’s safe and not living in Vought Tower, feet away from Homelander.
“I think he loves working with his girlfriend. It’s amazing.”
Plus One (2019)
Scream (2022)
“Ben King” (Plus One)
“Richie Kirsch” (Scream)
Around the time The Boys took off, Jack Quaid also began adding to his feature film credits.
In Plus One, his character Ben and friend Alice (Maya Erskine), both long-time singletons, agree to be each other’s plus one at every wedding they’re invited to.
Along the way, the characters become romantically involved themselves. However, in typical rom-com fashion, things don’t exactly go smoothly.
Joining Quaid and Erskine are Ed Begley Jr (as Quaid’s on-screen father), Rosalind Chao, Beck Bennett and Finn Wittrock.
Meanwhile, 2022 saw Quaid join another iconic film franchise by appearing in the fifth Scream movie. Titled simply “Scream”, it was the slasher franchise’s first instalment over a decade.
The actor opened up to The Wrap about his “interesting” relationship to Scream before signing on.
Stemming from trick or treating as a four-year-old, he revealed: “I saw all these other kids dressed as Ghostface because it was the year that “Scream” came out and it traumatized me. It absolutely scared me shitless.
“And there was this one mask that this one kid had, that I’ve seen since, where you can pump fake blood through a see-through Ghostface mask. Just complete no.
“I looked at that and I was like, ‘No, I want no part of this.’ So if you would’ve told my four year old self, that one day he’d wind up in a Scream movie, he wouldn’t have believed you.”
In a departure from The Boys‘ Hughie, Quaid took on the role of Richie Kirsch, boyfriend to Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera).
Ultimately, *spoiler alert*, much like The Hunger Games, Jack Quaid once again played a murderer in a major movie franchise. Joining Richie as the newest “Ghostface” incarnation was Amber Freeman (Mikey Madison).
Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020 – present)
“Brad Boimler”
Following on The Boys, Quaid’s continued his journey into “nerdy” territory with voiceover roles in beloved franchises.
Since 2020, he has starred as “Brad Boimler” in adult animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks for Paramount+.
Set in the late 24th century, its premise follows one of Starfleet’s least important starships, the USS Cerritos. Unlike other Star Trek iterations, the show’s protagonists are the low-ranking workers with menial jobs, while the captain and senior officers serve as supporting characters.
Quaid’s character, Brad Boimler, is a ensign aboard the Cerritos – promoted to lieutenant (junior grade) in the fourth season. Meanwhile, the character is also a steadfast rule follower with a lot to learn.
Alongside Quaid, the show’s main voice cast includes Tawny Newsome, Jerry O’Connell, Noël Wells, Eugene Cordero, Fred Tatasciore, Dawnn Lewis and Gillian Vigman.
In a rare opportunity, the actor also portrayed Boimler in live-action for an episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
Batman: The Long Halloween: Part One (2021)
Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse (2023)
My Adventures with Superman (2023 -present)
“Alberto Falcone” (Batman: The Long Halloween: Part One) – voice role
“Earth-65 Peter Parker/Lizard” (Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse) – voice role
“Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman” (My Adventures with Superman) – voice role
Quaid has also ventured into the superhero genre, providing the voice for three famous comic-book characters.
This began with Batman: The Long Halloween, a two-part direct-to-video film based on a DC Comics storyline. Quaid lent his voice to Part One, portraying the role of Batman villain Alberto Falcone. In the comic books, Falcone also goes by the name “the Holiday Killer”.
Meanwhile, future The Boys co-star Jensen Ackles (Soldier Boy) voiced the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman, in a role-reversal to their future on-screen dynamic.
The stacked cast also included Josh Duhamel, Billy Burke, Titus Welliver and Naya Rivera, in her final performance.
Quaid’s next animated superhero project saw him play a different twist on a beloved character. He had a supporting voice role as “Peter Parker” in 2023’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
The movie features Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) as Spider-Man, while Quaid’s Peter was from an alternate dimension where he instead became the Lizard. In that reality, Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) became the hero known as “Spider-Woman”.
Last but not least, Quaid also began voicing DC Comics hero Clark Kent/Superman in My Adventures with Superman.
In this version, Clark, reporter Lois Lane (Alice Lee) and photographer Jimmy Olsen (Ishmel Sahid) team up to save the day against villains in Metropolis.
Other characters featured include Kiana Madeira as Kara Zor-El / Supergirl, as well as Darrell Brown as Daily Planet editor-in-chief Perry White.
Oppenheimer (2023)
“Richard Feynman”
Amid his television successes, Quaid further landed a role in Christopher Nolan’s multi-Academy Award winning film Oppenheimer.
Released in July 2023, the epic biographical thriller drama film follows the life of American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy). The real-life Oppenheimer helped develop the first nuclear weapons during the Second World War.
Jack Quaid portrays real-life Nobel-winning theoretical physicist Richard Feynman, who was born in 1918 and died in 1988.
Oppenheimer went on to win seven Academy Awards, including Best Actor (Cillian Murphy), Best Supporting Actor (Robert Downey Jr), Best Picture and Best Director.
Meanwhile, the star-studded cast also featured Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Rami Malek, Casey Affleck, Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett and Sir Kenneth Branagh, among many, many others.
Quaid chatted to FandomWire about his experience making Oppenheimer, saying: “Shooting that was such an incredible experience. Like, I’m like a blip in that movie, but it was just so incredible to sit there and watch true masters do what they do.”
Follow writer Conor O’Brien on Twitter/X
A lifelong TV and Film buff, Conor founded Courageous Nerd in 2019. He has conducted hundreds of interviews for the site, as well as written comprehensive feature articles on a variety of topics. You can find him on X: @conorrcn.
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