In recent years, Jack Quaid has made a name for himself thanks to roles in films and series like 2022’s Scream and the popular Prime Video series The Boys. Now, he’s finally getting a chance to be a true leading man in Novocaine, a new action-comedy directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen (Villains), in which he plays a man who can’t feel pain who goes on a quest to rescue the newfound love of his life after she is kidnapped.
We at FandomWire got to speak with Novocaine star Jack Quaid about his role in the action comedy, where it fits within his filmography, and starring opposite fellow child of Hollywood royalty Ray Nicholson. Check out the full interview below!
Novocaine Interview
FandomWire: Minor spoilers here, but your character in Novocaine has an all-body video game tattoo. And I know you’re a big gamer in real life, so if you had an all-body video game tattoo, what would it be inspired by and why?
Jack Quaid: My God, that’s a really good question. Aesthetically, what would it be? Because like, Crash Bandicoot, but that’s insane as a full-body tattoo right? That’s nuts. But that’s the first one that came to mind, so I guess that’s it.
FW: I’ve noticed a trend in your roles — Hughie in The Boys, Richie in Scream, and of course Nathan in Novocaine — several of them are driven to violence by love. Why do you think this is such an intriguing character motivation?
Quaid: Oh man, I don’t know. With Nate, specifically, he’s definitely one of the more active characters I’ve ever played. Hughie is very much thrust into that world by the circumstances beyond his control. Nate is as well, but he really does something about it.
And what I really liked about him was the movie is so gnarly and so intense and insane, but I wanted to contrast that with an inherent sweetness in the character. So I think that contrast really drew me to it.
Also, I know I’m a guy that you look at and you’re not necessarily like, “That guy kicks so much ass. He could fight me and win.” But what I liked about the character was that it was a way for me to be the lead of an action movie in a way that was unique to me. It’s not about how much I can kick ass, it’s about how much my ass can get kicked and still keep going. So I found that all really cool.
FW: The irony was not lost on me that Novocaine‘s villain is played by Ray Nicholson who, like you, is a very talented child of a screen legend. Did you find kinship in being the next generation of acting talent?
Quaid: Yeah, we definitely share that sensibility. But Ray’s like, the nicest possible dude. He’s such an insane villain in this movie, but that’s contrasted with what a good heart he has [in real life]. Finding time to spend with him and Amber Midthunder and Jacob Batalon off-set was one of the greatest pleasures of this movie.
We shot in Cape Town, South Africa — masquerading as San Diego — and we just all hung out all the time. The cast and crew went out to go see every new movie that was playing in the theater nearby where we were living. And it was just a really, genuinely good time when I was not, you know… getting beaten within an inch of my life.
FW: Obviously, earlier this year you had Companion, and now you have Novocaine. I think your characters in the two are completely different. In Companion, your character is despicable, and here, you’re amazing. How did you reconcile the two characters?
Quaid: It’s cool to experiment. And when you’re playing a kind of despicable person or an antagonist, you do have a little bit more freedom, where you’re unburdened by likability. You’re like, “Oh I don’t have to worry about that. The intention is for audiences to boo me, and that’s when I know I’ve done a good job.” But you know, I think finding the core of each character is important to me and making sure that whether they’re a hero or a villain, they seem like they could exist somewhat in our real world.
And I think it’s really cool that both stories kind of involve love in some way, shape, or form, and two men that are just drastically different. One who is so unbelievably selfish and constantly thinking about himself in the relationship, and then Nate, who is just thinking about Sherry. Nate, I think, is one of the more heroic people I’ve ever played — just because he’s so selfless and doesn’t even know that he is. As soon as Sherry gets kidnapped, he just goes and springs into action despite everything that should be telling him not to do that.
Novocaine hits theaters on March 14.
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