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.”
In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
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.
