Dennis Quaid isn’t worried about being eclipsed by his son Jack Quaid.
The 70-year-old actor shared at the premiere of “Happy Face” on Tuesday night that he “really” hopes he’ll eventually be more known for being Jack’s dad than the star of dozens of movies like “Great Balls of Fire!” and “The Parent Trap.”
Jack, who has been acting professionally for more than a decade now, is the only child of Quaid and Meg Ryan, 63. They got married in 1991 and split ten years later.
Jack made his film debut in 2012’s “The Hunger Games,” and since then has gone on to star in the satirical superhero TV series “The Boys,” “Scream (2022),” “Scream VI,” “Oppenheimer,” and “Companion.”
He most recently starred in “Novocaine,” which his dad proudly noted is the “number one movie — that’s a big deal!”
And Dennis, who also shares fraternal twins with ex-wife Kimberly Buffington, only sees big things ahead for his eldest child.
“I think he’s on a trajectory to go way beyond both of us,” the “Far from Heaven” star added about his and Ryan’s son’s thespian abilities, before stressing that he’d be proud of Jack no matter what.
“He’s just really good with or without success,” he continued. “[I’m] so proud of him for the human being he’s turned out to be.”
In July 2024, Jack addressed the advantages of having movie-star parents during a podcast interview with the Daily Beast, admitting that he’s “inclined to agree” with the label “nepo baby.”
“I am an immensely privileged person,” he explained, noting that he, “was able to get representation pretty early on, and that’s more than half the battle.”
However, he added that he’s “just tried to work as hard as I possibly can to prove that I deserve to walk through that door…I need to work my a– off.”
Dennis works hard, too.
He’s currently co-starring in the Paramount+ miniseries “Happy Face.” He plays serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, who was found guilty of killing at least eight women in the 1980s.