Dennis quaid reveals he and meg ryans son got his name from jack nicholson 20240412 p5plvi.html – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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This was published 2 years ago

Dennis Quaid reveals the A-lister he and Meg Ryan's son is named after

Suki Reid
Suki Reid

Dennis Quaid has revealed the unique way he and Meg Ryan decided on the name of their now 31-year-old son, Jack. And it can all be traced back to the first time the actor stepped foot on a movie set.

In an interview with E! News, Dennis recalled his brother Randy Quaid scoring a role in a flick called Missouri Breaks and joining him on set. "[It was] My very first movie set, I'm watching these actors, my real heroes." he told the publication.

It was during that time he spent his nights hanging out at an A-lister's house.

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Jack Quaid and Dennis Quaid

Acting runs in the family for Jack, Dennis and Meg.  Getty Images for UTA

"We hung out at Jack Nicholson's house every night. He and Randy were good friends."

Dennis says Nicholson and his brother gave him a lot of encouragement at the time, and "that we named [my son] Jack after that".

Jack Quaid also went on to become an actor, starring in cult-classic horror films, including the Scream franchise and, more recently, Oppenheimer. 

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Jack Quaid stars in Scream.

Jack was also the film's leading man, much like his namesake.  Paramount Pictures

"Nobody pushed him into being an actor," Dennis explained.

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"He was four years old and he's carrying around a video camera making little movies and he's still doing that."

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Jack Quaid

The Hollywood star at the Academy Awards for Oppenheimer.  Getty

Jack recently told People that he rarely turns to his parents for help with his acting career. 

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"I've never asked them, 'How should I perform this scene?'" Jack said.

"It's lucky that I got to grow up saying, 'Hey, I want to be an actor' and they understood that," he admitted.

"I didn't grow up in a house that didn't quite understand what that meant or a house that would tell me, 'Oh that probably isn't the wisest choice, you should have a backup plan,'" Jack explained.

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