Meg Ryan Reacts To Her Son Jack Quaid's Success In Hollywood Amid Her Rom-Com Comeback

Meg Ryan in What Happens Later and Jack Quaid in The Boys
(Image credit: Bleecker Street/Amazon Studios)

Over the past year, it seems like the entirety of Hollywood has been weighing on nepo babies, because everyone turned around and realized that a lot of famous actors these days are the children of other famous actors. Among the nepo babies being discussed is The Boys and Scream star Jack Quaid, who is the son of Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid. Speaking about this topic, and her son's success as an actor, Ryan recently shared her thoughts on him following in her footsteps as she prepares to release her first romantic comedy in over a decade

Meg Ryan hasn’t starred in a movie since 2015’s Ithaca, but she’s making a comeback with What Happens Later, a rom-com she co-wrote and directed, that she stars in alongside David Duchovny. Ahead of its release, and looking back at her years away from the business, the queen of romantic comedies spoke about her 31-year-old son’s recent success in Hollywood, saying this: 

He's just in it for all the right reasons. He's somebody who just loves what he does and obviously, he's somebody who knows that he's privileged and he's also somebody who works so hard. I am just so proud of how sensible he is, how ethical he is, how fun he is — and I just knew early on he was somebody I would have to share. He's just fantastic.

Ryan had nothing but great things to say about her son while speaking to People about motherhood. While some children of two famous Hollywood actors might attempt to get into acting for notoriety or due to the easy connections, Meg Ryan shared that Jack Quaid is “in it for the right reasons,” and he has definitely worked hard to get where he is. 

Quaid earned his first acting gig in 2012’s The Hunger Games, and he has been acting ever since. However, in the past few years in particular he’s gained more traction. He stars in one of Amazon Prime's best shows The Boys, voices a character in Star Trek's animated series Lower Decks, and played a major role 2022’s Scream. He was even part of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer cast. He’s also found voice roles in 2021’s Batman: The Long Halloween, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and My Adventures with Superman. Talk about an impressive filmography!

Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid got married on Valentine’s Day in 1991 after co-starring in Innerspace together in 1987. The couple divorced a decade after their marriage in 2001. In 2006, Ryan adopted a 14-month-old girl from China whom she named Daisy True Ryan. The Sleepless in Seattle also told the magazine that both of her kids are “a true joy,” and she’s currently dealing with the transition of Daisy True having recently started college this year. Ryan said she’s "visit[ing] probably more than I should," but is “trying to be casual” about the whole thing. 

With her kids all grown up and thriving, Ryan is back at it with her first movie in years. Check out the trailer for What Happens Later below: 

What Happens Later looks like a return to form for Meg Ryan and it’ll be exciting to see the actress back on the big screen after she took an eight-year break. What Happens Later is coming to theaters on November 3, and make sure to check the 2023 TV schedule so you know when Jack Quaid's upcoming projects are set to come out. 

Sarah El-Mahmoud
Staff Writer

Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.