Jack Quaid’s role in the action comedy movie Novocaine has him developing an entirely different kind of ability than fans are used to. Quaid plays Nathan Caine, a man living a sheltered life with a congenital disorder that leaves him completely unable to feel physical pain. After his girlfriend Sherry is kidnapped during a brutal bank heist, Nate puts his entire body on the line as he scrambles to rescue her.

In an interview with CBR, Quaid explains what drew him to join the deliriously violent action comedy. He discusses the emotional stakes behind the physical gauntlet Nate endures. Plus, the actor shares his love for starring in the recently concluded Star Trek: Lower Decks — and hopes that he could return to the Star Trek universe someday.

CBR: Nate is seeing the world through brand-new eyes through his relationship with Sherry. How did you capture that mix of wonder and anxiety in your performance?

Jack Quaid: That was a big part of my approach to the character. Reading this script, this guy can’t feel pain. He’s out there trying to save the woman he loves, but he lives this very safe existence because of his rare disorder. Just because he can’t feel pain doesn’t mean he can’t get hurt. He has to have a very controlled, regimented, safe life where he’s really just at home, at work and nothing else.

Through Sherry, he starts to take risks. Yes, it’s a gnarly action comedy, but it’s a person coming out of his shell and discovering the world for the first time. The fish out of water element was the stuff that I was really trying to nail down. He’s never been in certain rooms before. I approached each scene like this was probably the first time he’s ever been in a diner or a tattoo parlor, or anything like that.

The bulk of Novocaine takes place over a 24-hour period. How did you approach depicting Nate’s arc from withdrawn everyman to reluctant action hero, especially when shooting out of sequence?

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That was the coolest part! We didn’t shoot it in-sequence, but the first third of this movie is essentially a rom-com, so we shot all of that first, before we got into any of the action stuff. That was amazing because it gave Amber [Midthunder, who plays Sherry] and I plenty of opportunities to discover who our characters were. We rehearsed those scenes about as much as I rehearsed any of the action scenes, just those scenes of them connecting, because that was so important to all of us and a big reason why I wanted to do this movie.

Dan [Berk] and Bobby [Olsen], the directors, were like this is what really matters in this movie. If we don’t care about Nate and Sherry as a couple, we don’t care about Nate trying to save Sherry later. We have to make sure that we really nail these scenes. It was such a drastic shift that first day of the bank robbery — like, let’s go! I’m getting punched and it was such a crazy shift. I was so lucky that I had the rehearsals and all those scenes with Sherry, because it really let me figure out who Nate was before I started on this insane journey.

In addition to the action, there is also a lot of physical comedy in the movie, whether it’s Nate trying to move with an arrow to the leg or spikes in his back. What was that aspect of Novocaine like for you?

Physical comedy is huge for me. It is the number one thing that I want to do. Liar Liar changed my life. Jim Carrey, I have to give him so much credit for that movie. It really rocked my world in a lot of ways, because in that movie, in the beginning he’s a jerk, but he also has the biggest heart when it comes to his son. He’s able to do all these wacky, gigantic physical bits, while still having these very good dramatic scenes. That’s what I tried to bring to this character. He has to feel real. He has to have a heart.

The movie is gnarly as hell, so I have to contrast that by making Nate the biggest sweetie pie that I can. If he’s brooding or dark in any way, I think it’s a little too much. You want to have contrast to that. Those physical comedy scenes, I really relished because without getting too hoity-toity, I think there’s a little bit of Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton there. I can’t react, and their whole point was that they had a very stoic face while insane stuff was happening to them in the background.

I’m what I like to describe as a floppy-floppy-boy-boy. [Laughs.] I have a lot of limbs, and I’ve got to use them. This definitely gave me the opportunity to do that. That’s a sketch that I wrote called “Floppy-Floppy-Boy-Boy,” and the directors saw me do that sketch before we started shooting. Throughout the shoot, they would go “A little more floppy-floppy-boy-boy on this take. A little less floppy-floppy-boy-boy on this take.”

How would you describe working with directors Dan Berk and Robert Olsen on Novocaine?

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They’re incredible! They set such an incredible tone. They’re the nicest guys on the planet. I met with them and I knew that I had to do this immediately, because they reminded me of all of my best friends. They’ve since become some of my very good friends. I just want to hang out with them! I love all the directors I’ve worked with, but there are rare times when you’re like “I’m genuinely friends with these guys.”

They set such an incredible tone, treating everybody with so much respect. They’re not related, but they’re essentially twins. I’ve seen them walk into the room hitting the exact same stride next to each other. I wouldn’t have wanted to do this movie with anybody else. They are the perfect people for this. I tried to bring some of their sensibilities to the character of Nate as well. Sometimes you’re doing, more or less, an impression of the director. It’s fun to let that in and influence you. They’re the biggest sweethearts ever — and that applied to Nate very well.

The entire movie hinges on the relationship between Nate and Sherry. You mentioned working a lot with Amber Midthunder, so how did the two of you approach your characters’ rapport?

That meant everything to us; it really did. [The movie] doesn’t work if you don’t buy their relationship. We had a lot of rehearsals. Every little bit of banter that they had, we tried to do it at least a few times in a safer environment, not on set, so that we could figure out the in and outs of that relationship, what works and what doesn’t work.

I did that on Plus One a lot. We had weeks of rehearsal with Maya Erskine, where we rehearsed the whole movie. By the time we got to set, we had done it all already and could just have fun. That was great, to get the basics out of the way. From there, we would just improvise and have a blast. I think all chemistry is just two actors who are willing to listen to each other. I try my best to be in the moment as possible.

Amber is so good at doing that, and she has this unbelievable charm and charisma to her, [so] that you’re immediately sucked in. She’s one of the coolest people that I’ve ever worked with, and I want to work with her forever. She’s amazing! Ever since I saw Prey, I was like “This is the coolest person on the planet.” I came in as a fan. I didn’t know she was going to be part of the movie. Dan and Bobby texted me that they got Amber Midthunder for the movie and I thought it was unbelievable.

Star Trek: Lower Decks creator Mike McMahan has stated that he’s looking for a way to bring the series back. If your schedule allows, would you be open to reprising your role as Brad Boimler?

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Absolutely! I would play Boimler again in a heartbeat. I love that show and I love meeting Trekkies. Trekkies are kind of like Nate in that they’re the sweetest people — they really are. I do cons every now and then and every time someone comes up with a Boimler costume or wants me to sign a Lower Decks thing, I let out a sigh of happiness and relief that I got to interact with another Trekkie. They’re the most wonderful people on Earth.

Tawny Newsome, who plays Mariner, is one of my best friends, and we bonded because of this thing. We’re still going to hang out, but I’d love to hang out with her at work as well. Whatever we can do to bring Boimler, Mariner and the whole crew back, I’m in 1000%. Fingers crossed!

Directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, Novocaine is in theaters now.

Novocaine

Release Date

March 14, 2025

Runtime

110 Minutes

Director

Dan Berk, Robert Olsen

Writers

Lars Jacobson