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Los Angeles Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Jack Quaid
After starring in several back-to-back projects over the past six months, Jack Quaid has been eager to finally settle in for a bit. 'It's amazing that I get to do this job, but I do find myself missing home a lot,' Quaid says from his Los Angeles apartment, which he shares with his girlfriend and 'The Boys' co-star Claudia Doumit. 'So it will be nice to really connect with the people I grew up with and the place I'm from.' Quaid kicked off his jam-packed year with the sci-fi thriller 'Companion,' and a couple of months later, he transformed into a superhero who feels no pain in 'Novocaine.' Shortly after, he co-starred in a crime thriller called 'Neighborhood Watch,' and he traveled across the pond to London to star in 'Heads of State' with Idris Elba, John Cena, and Priyanka Chopra, which is now streaming on Prime Video. When we hop on a Zoom call, Quaid has recently returned to L.A. after shooting the fifth and final season of 'The Boys,' Prime Video's superhero dramedy. 'I've really grown up on that show,' says Quaid, who dedicated an Instagram post to 'The Boys' with a collection of bloody selfies. 'I worked a bit before, but that show was really like actor boot camp.' Quaid talked about his perfect Sunday in L.A., which involves taking a 'giant walk' to visit all of his favorite spots, including a comic book store, coffee shop and a classic diner. If it were up to him, the action star would break the laws of physics and be in more than one place at a time. For now, sadly, that only works in superhero movies. This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity. 7:30 a.m.: Coffee, records and backgammon Claudia or I will usually make coffee. We kind of have a whole morning routine. Not to sound too douchey, but I'm never really here or at least I haven't been in the past year, so every time I'm home, I just want to take it in. The one constant every day is that we wake up, have coffee and put a record on. It's usually 'Pink Moon' by Nick Drake or 'Super Sad Generation' by Arlo Parks. Sometimes it's Marty Robbins' 'Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs,' which is a good one. Just stuff that starts the day off in kind of a chill way. We'll go out onto our balcony, have our coffee and play backgammon. Backgammon is something I learned on the set of 'The Boys.' It's just such a fun game that keeps your mind active. You're not on your phone and it's nice to play with someone that you love, obviously. 10 a.m.: Fill up my tote bag with new comics I usually go for a giant walk. L.A. is not a walkable city, but I'm trying to make it one. I love my local businesses and coffee shops, and I try to be a regular whenever I can. I typically will walk to my favorite comic book shop in L.A. called Golden Apple. I started going there to get all the issues of 'The Boys' to research the comic. I was really into comics when I was younger, and then recently, I've gotten very into comics. My specification is that it can't be about superheroes. No disrespect to those comics, but I'm in that world a lot. I really started getting into this writer named James Tynion IV. I stared reading 'Something Is Killing the Children' and I got obsessed with it, and that kind of spawned this new comic renaissance for me. I just go to the shop, I talk to the guy who works at the store and he recommends new books to me and I just love that. 11 a.m.: Feel nostalgic at my favorite diner I'd probably walk all the way to Swingers Diner and meet up with a friend. I used to go there with my sketch comedy group — we would write there a lot. Everyone who works there is amazing and that place is legendary. I grew up in Santa Monica and I used to go to that location which used to have purple cows on the walls. I think that closed, which is unfortunate. Back then, I'd be doing a school play and that's where everybody would go after a performance. Typically, I get the protein breakfast with quinoa, egg whites and chicken. Very boring. But on my ideal Sunday, I'd get something involving bananas, pancakes and peanut butter. I'd want to sit and eat on the [patio] area. If it has a little bit of tree shade, I'm in. 1:30 p.m.: Coffee break Then I would go to Coffee for Sasquatch, which is amazing. My sketch comedy group is called Sasquatch so I feel like I have to go in there. Since it's my ideal Sunday, I'll kind of eschew any dietary restrictions. Usually I have black coffee, but I'd get their frozen blended coffee with almond milk, which is basically a milkshake. I can't remember the name, but It's so good and it gets you that caffeine buzz. I'd probably have my headphones on, listening to music and reading comics. 4 p.m.: Video games and virtual photography I think that 4 p.m. is my least favorite time of day. It's not quite settling down in the evening. The sun is still high in the sky. There's something about it that I just don't like, so I'd probably want to go home. My internal clock wherever I am just knows it's 4 p.m. and I get a little sad. I've gotten really into virtual photography. A lot of games have a photo mode where you can pause the game and put a digital camera anywhere in the 3D space. There's like lenses and filters, and it's kind of inspired me to do photography in the real world if I can. It's really calming so I think I would need that around 4 p.m. 5 p.m.: Run down Sunset Boulevard 5 p.m. is fine because the sun is starting to set and that's cool. I'd probably go for like a giant jog. I'd basically go to where Book Soup is and then head back. Some of it's on Sunset Boulevard, which is kind of overwhelming but it's nice to see the new billboards in town. I'd jog by the Comedy Store and the Laugh Factory. I'm an anxious person and jogging is good for anxiety. 7 p.m.: Mexican food with friends At 7 p.m., I'd assemble the biggest group of people I know who are in town, including my group of high school friends and their partners, to go to a classic Mexican restaurant. My favorite thing to do in L.A. is to eat authentic Mexican food. L.A. is better with these places here. It's just what makes L.A. L.A. to me. So I'd go to any restaurant with 'El' in the title. The three big 'El's' to me are El Compadre, El Coyote and El Carmen. They're all delicious and they have so much history to them, which I love. I was literally at El Coyote last night. I always order a combo of shrimp and chicken fajitas, and I'd get a spicy margarita or three of them. I'm a giant spice fan. 9 p.m.: Watch 'Jaws' in a cemetery My favorite thing to do in L.A., period, and I've been doing it since high school, is to go to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery to watch a movie. There's this company called Cinespia that does screenings of classic movies. I say it's in a cemetery and people go, 'Why are you doing that?' But it's on this big grassy field and — at least they say — you're not on top of dead bodies. People bring a blanket, wine, snacks and everyone just watches a movie. But let's say we want to go see a movie that's currently in theaters. In the fantasy of my perfect Sunday, the ArcLight is back. That was a big pandemic loss for me because that was my favorite movie theater I think I'd ever been to. When you came out of the theater, you'd talk about it with everyone. I loved the employees doing the intro of the movie. I'd love to manifest another dream. ArcLight was the best place to be a moviegoer, so I want to have a hand in creating something like that in L.A. again. 12 a.m.: Canter's and cartoons before bed I'd probably go home and fall asleep to 'The Simpsons' or 'Futurama.' That's usually the way that Claudia and I go down. But if I'm still hungry, I'd order take out from Canter's Deli cause I've had three margaritas and that's the best place to have some good greasy, classic L.A. diner food. I'd get a turkey Reuben with some thick french fries. Then I'd like to go to bed late on my perfect Sunday like around 1 a.m. I'd like to relish in that as long as I can.
Forbes
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘Heads Of State's Jack Quaid Never Saw Himself As An Action Hero
Jack Quaid is all smiles on the set of 'Head of State.' 2025 has been one heck of a year for Jack Quaid. Heads of State is his latest film to drop this year, following the crowd-pleasing Novocaine and Companion. "I don't know. It's getting obnoxious at this point," Quaid laughs as we chat over Zoom. "It's been great and I'm very lucky. I feel like I've worked a lot over the past year. It has been strange for me. I didn't realize that all of it would come out within a few months of each other. That's the thing. It's interesting because I did Companion, Novocaine, and Heads of State, and Heads of State is coming out now, but I shot that first." The Boys' Quaid plays a small but pivotal role in the action comedy, which lands on Amazon's Prime Video on Wednesday, July 2, 2025. When the UK Prime Minister and US President, played by Idris Elba and John Cena respectively, become the targets of a foreign enemy, they're forced to rely on one another to thwart a global conspiracy. Directed by Hardcore Henry and Nobody filmmaker Ilya Naishuller, Heads of State also stars Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Paddy Considine, Carla Gugino, and Stephen Root. Quaid loves being an action movie star, but he didn't see it coming. "I think this movie gave me the action bug that I carried forth in Novocaine. Ilya is one of our great action movie directors, and it was such a great opportunity. When the offer came in, I was like, 'I have to work with this guy.' I loved Nobody so much. Hardcore Henry is amazing," he enthuses. "First and foremost, he cares about entertaining an audience, and I love that about him, and he brings a lot of heart." "I think that's something that appeals to me about it. I don't think anyone looks at me and thinks that I'm an action hero in any regard, but I think that's what makes it kind of fun and unexpected when all of a sudden, I am in a very intense action sequence. I love action movies from the 80s and 90s, and I especially enjoy those that are character-driven. I love stuff that's like, 'Well, you care about the characters, therefore you care about the action.' Both Novocaine and this have degrees of that." Something else Quaid loves about the opportunity is that his character, Marty, gave him something that almost no other role he has been offered. "I rarely get to be a person who is trained in combat or a badass in any way. Marty, he's not in the movie for a ton, but he knows what he's doing, and that was fun to do," the actor explains. 'He's a guy with a plan, a guy with actual skill. Knowing that Ilya was going to be behind the camera made it even more special.' Quaid's big moment in Heads of State is an action sequence that took weeks to film due to its complexity, "even though I'm behind a wall shooting a shotgun for a lot of it." "Every beat of it is very dense, whether I'm sliding down my hallway, or explosions are going off by my head, and I have to pretend not to be fazed by it in any way. You have to look psyched about it," he laughs. 'It took a while, and that's not to mention the scenes that we were shooting before that with John Cena and Idris Elba. I was a fan of them beforehand, but they're some of the nicest people I've ever met in my life. They're such great role models for what a number one or number two on a call sheet should be.' The Scream and Plus One actor says that WWE legend Cena took him under his wing and "was basically my dad for those two weeks." "He was like, 'Oh, you don't need to do that stunt in rehearsal. I don't want you to pull something.' He was so unbelievably kind and looked out for my well-being," he enthuses. 'Idris Elba is the coolest dude I've ever met in my life. I was making these dumb mashups on my phone, and I showed him one of them. He's a very accomplished DJ, so just getting a 'That's dope, man' from Idris Elba was the greatest moment of my life. I had a blast working with those two, and they crushed it in this movie.' Jack Quaid at the Deadline Contenders Television 2025 held at the Directors Guild of America in Los ... More Angeles, California. Jack Quaid Says 'Heads Of State' Hits All The Right Iconic Beats Quaid's stand-out action sequence even surprised the actor when he got the chance to screen the movie. Impressed by the final product, he was especially surprised by the choice of music in the film, which featured one of his all-time favorite tracks, Sabotage by the Beastie Boys. "I had no idea. It wasn't Sabotage when we were on set, I think they were playing a heavy metal song, but I'm not exactly sure what it was," he recalls. "Ilya had a certain beats per minute that he needed to hit. It needed to have a certain rhythm. He cares about every single sequence in his movie, and I didn't expect him to get that much face time with him, honestly, but we were having meetings about what the sequence should be about. The scene comes at a very pivotal part in the movie that is often referred to as the 'fun and games' section, which is all about getting the audience excited and hopefully laughing, to fulfil the promise of the premise." "The whole time I'm like, 'What's going to be the song? It has got to be an absolute banger, 'and we were texting different ideas back and forth. At one point, we were both excited about the idea of it being ABBA because it would be a little bit unexpected to have an action scene set to an ABBA song, or for my character to be an ABBA fan. You never know what you're going to get the rights to in the moment." He continues, 'I remember watching the movie for the first time. I was in London again, about a year later, and Ilya was like, 'Come on down and see the movie.' It was like me, Priyanka, and Katrina Durden, who plays one of the villains of the movie. My sequence came on, and they started playing Sabotage, and I lost my mind. I love that song. I work out to that song. It's perfect. I was so unbelievably happy and surprised that it was a Beastie Boys track. That was sick.' John Cena and Idris Elba in 'Heads of State.' While Quaid would have loved to have been in the film more, he's very happy with his work and how Heads of State turned out. He'd love to return to Marty if the opportunity came up. "A sequel all depends on whether or not an audience enjoys the first movie, so hopefully they do. I would play this character again in a heartbeat. I think there's a lot left unexplored with him. I came up with my backstory, which I love, but you never know what's canon or not," he muses. "Case in point, I remember I came up with this whole elaborate backstory for my character in Scream then Scream VI happened, and it's like, 'Oh, I have a family and I have siblings,' which is great, but not what I'm thinking in my head at the time. I would love to explore this character further, because he is so intriguing. He's such a loon. What I was trying to tap into the most was that this is a guy who has lived by himself alone in a CIA safe house for seemingly years, and he doesn't socialize with a lot of people, so what does that look like when all of a sudden the President and the Prime Minister show up at his door? He's such a fan of the President, and at that moment he thinks that he's dead." "I knew my role in helping their arc, where I'm supposed to be just fawning over the President and making Idris feel a little insecure about himself, and in a polite, nice way, plant a little bit of doubt in their relationship that they get over. That was fun to play as well. I remember really meeting John Cena for the first time and just being like, 'I'm going to hug you a lot. Is that okay?' He was very sweet, nice, and kind about it. It was really great hanging out with those guys. Obviously, I'd be down for a sequel, if that's something Amazon was interested in doing." Jack Quaid attends the 'Novocaine' Los Angeles Premiere at Paramount Pictures Studios in Los ... More Angeles, California. Quaid also wouldn't say no to a follow-up to another of his 2025 movies, the acclaimed box office actioner Novocaine. "Oh, my God, yes," the humble actor concludes. "Honestly, I want to thank anyone who checked out anything I've ever made out. Seriously, that means the world to any actor, and I'm no exception. The fact that anyone has seen anything I've made in this past year, or ever, thank you so much from the bottom of my heart."
Business Insider
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
15 movies and shows to stream this weekend, from season 2 of 'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' to a new sci-fi thriller
Jack Quaid plays an average guy with an uncanny ability to not feel pain in "Novocaine." Jack Quaid, known for playing an unlikely vigilante in the superhero satire series " The Boys," portrays a different kind of action star in "Novocaine." In the 2025 film, Quaid stars as Nathan Caine, an introverted everyman who works at a trust credit union. When his coworker, whom he has a crush on, gets kidnapped, Nathan uses his inability to feel pain to fight and try to rescue her. The '70s-set drama series "Duster" follows a getaway driver and a rookie FBI agent. "Lost" star Josh Holloway plays Jim, a getaway car driver who teams up with Nina (Rachel Hilson), the first Black female FBI agent, to take down a crime syndicate in the Southwest. The eight-episode series is co-created by J.J. Abrams, and new episodes release weekly, leading to the finale on July 3. "Better Man" offers a fresh take on the typical biopic. See Adrien Brody's Oscar-winning performance in "The Brutalist." If the lengthy runtime and intermission deterred you from seeing " The Brutalist" in theaters, you can now watch the film at home. The movie stars Adrien Brody as László Tóth, a Hungarian-Jewish Holocaust survivor and accomplished architect who immigrates to America post-WWII to rebuild his life. For a coming-of-age comedy series, check out "Overcompensating." Actor and comedian Benito Skinner, known for his internet persona Benny Drama, brings his humor to Hollywood as the creator and writer of Prime Video's raunchy college series "Overcompensating." In the show, he plays Benny Scanlon, a closeted freshman trying to keep up appearances while also figuring out who he really is. The eight-episode first season dropped all at once this week, featuring cameos from celebrities like Charli XCX and Megan Fox. Watch "Matteo Lane: The Al Dente Special" for more laughs. "Andor" came to an end this week. Alexander Skarsgård stars as a rogue robot with free will in "Murderbot." The Apple TV+ series adaptation of Martha Wells' bestselling book series "The Murderbot Diaries" fuses comedy and thrills as it follows a security construct with an artificial body. After hacking his system and gaining free will, Muderbot (Alexander Skarsgård) tries to maintain his cover while on assignment with a team of researchers when really, he'd rather just watch soap operas. Season two of "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" brings more drama. The new season kicks off with the surprise arrival of Miranda McWhorter, the former best friend of star Taylor Frankie Paul and one of the original MomTok members. After distancing herself from the group amid the swinging scandal, McWhorter is back to repair her friendships and possibly rejoin MomTok. All 10 episodes are streaming now. "Untold: The Liver King" chronicles the rise and fall of a health influencer. Remember the raw organ-eating influencer who touted an "ancestral lifestyle" and unconventional health practices? Netflix's new documentary "Untold: The Liver King" unpacks the life of the disgraced internet star known as Liver King, aka Brian Johnson, and the steroid scandal that caused backlash. True crime fans can check out "Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story." The three-episode limited series tells the story of married couple Fred and Rose West, notorious UK serial killers who committed horrific crimes against their own kids and other young women and children. Season seven of the scripted sports drama series "All American" is now streaming. For unscripted sports, watch the new season of "Welcome to Wrexham." Season four of "Welcome to Wrexham" continues to document the journey of Wrexham AFC, the oldest English football club in Wales that made waves when it was purchased by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney a few years ago. Or "Vini Jr." Season 50 of "Saturday Night Live" ends this weekend.
Express Tribune
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
‘Novocaine' now streaming on Paramount+ with 81% Rotten Tomatoes score
Jack Quaid's action-thriller Novocaine is now officially streaming on Paramount+, following a successful theatrical run and strong critical reception. The film, which holds an 81% critic score and an 85% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, was directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen from a script by Lars Jacobson. Novocaine stars Quaid as Nathan Caine, a mild-mannered bank employee who can't feel pain due to a rare medical condition. When his co-worker and love interest Sherry (played by Amber Midthunder) is kidnapped during a bank heist, Caine embarks on a relentless, pain-defying mission to rescue her. The cast also includes Ray Nicholson (Smile 2), Jacob Batalon (Spider-Man: No Way Home), and Matt Walsh (Veep). Originally released on March 14, Novocaine topped the box office during its opening weekend, earning $8.8 million. Despite modest earnings, the film became one of the lowest-grossing No. 1 openers post-2020, ultimately reaching $34.2 million globally against an $18 million budget. Quaid celebrated the film's streaming debut with behind-the-scenes photos on Instagram, calling Novocaine 'a brutally fun ride' and encouraging fans to tune in on Paramount+. The Boys star continues to have a busy year. His sci-fi film Companion is also a streaming hit on Max, with a 93% critic score. Additionally, Quaid stars in Neighborhood Watch, now available digitally, alongside Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Malin Akerman. Novocaine adds to Jack Quaid's growing list of critically praised roles, solidifying his status as one of 2025's most in-demand action and thriller stars.
India Today
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- India Today
10 much-awaited Hollywood releases of 2025
10 much-awaited Hollywood releases of 2025 Apr 25, 2025 After Sinners, Novocaine and Minecraft, here is a list of 10 most-anticipated Hollywood films of 2025. Check it out. Marvel's misfit squad of anti-heroes bands together for a gritty, action-packed mission that blurs the line between good and evil. Thunderbolts Credit: Marvel Studios Ethan Hunt returns for one last, high-octane globe-trotting adventure to close out the legendary spy saga. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Credit: Instagram/Tom Cruise Starring Ana de Armas in the John Wick spinoff film, it arrives this summer, with Keanu Reeves appearing as the titular character. Ballerina Credit: IMDb Pixar's newest heartwarming tale follows a boy who's mistakenly chosen as Earth's ambassador by aliens, leading to an out-of-this-world journey. Elio Credit: Pixar The beloved animated franchise gets a live-action makeover, reigniting the magical bond between Hiccup and Toothless. How To Train Your Dragon (Live Action) Credit: Universal Brad Pitt gears up as a veteran driver mentoring a rookie in this adrenaline-fueled, Formula 1 racing drama produced by Lewis Hamilton. F1 Dinosaurs return with a vengeance in this rebooted chapter that promises fresh thrills and a whole new era of prehistoric chaos. It stars Jonathan Bailey, Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali. Jurassic World: Rebirth James Gunn reimagines the Man of Steel with a fresh start, blending classic heroism with modern-day relevance in the DC Universe. Superman Credit: DC Studios Marvel's first family finally enters the MCU with a bold origin story that promises cosmic stakes and emotional depth. Fantastic Four: The Four Steps Credit: Marvel The digital frontier expands with Jared Leto entering the Grid in a visually stunning continuation of the Tron legacy. Tron: Ares Credit: Disney
