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For the past couple of years, Jack Quaid has become one of the most interesting names in Hollywood. And with the release of the extremely painful Novocaine having just dropped on the 2025 movie schedule, it’s safe to say his star power is going to continue to rise. I’m sure he’ll get bigger, better, and more diverse opportunities in the coming months and years, but there’s one role in particular I would love for him to take on…
Max Payne.
Though there’s no talk of an upcoming video game movie based on the 2001 neo-noir shoot-’em-up about a former cop avenging the murder of his wife and daughter only to find himself wrapped up in a massive conspiracy, I can’t stop picturing Quaid playing the tortured, pill-popping, bullet-time flying one-man army. Let me explain…
I’ve Been A Max Payne Fan Since The Start, And I Could Really Use A Movie (Forget The 2008 Adaptation)
One of the first games I picked up for PlayStation 2 back in the day was Max Payne, and I’ve bought it on multiple consoles since then (I’ll be buying it again once Remedy Entertainment releases the remakes of the first and second games). I’ve gone on Payne’s journey time and time again, and have enjoyed everything besides those god-awful nightmare levels for the better part of the past quarter-century. So, to say that I really want a new Max Payne movie is an understatement.
“But what about the 2008 adaptation starring Mark Wahlberg?” you ask. Well, maybe it’s better if we act like that travesty of a video game movie didn’t exist. For reasons I don’t want to go into now, that overly serious and unremarkable movie failed on so many levels. But, there is a way to make up for the sins of the past, and that includes casting Jack Quaid as everyone’s favorite on-the-run cop.
While I Was Watching Novocaine, I Kept Thinking ‘This Is Our Max Payne’
As was pointed out in CinemaBlend’s Novocaine review, as well as by so many other critics, the movie was a showcase for Jack Quaid as a leading man, and in that regard, it was a bloody successful romp of a good time. While the movie was a little long and had an okay story, it did give me plenty of time to see Quaid’s Nathan Caine whoop a lot of ass and get his butt handed to him on a few occassions. And you know what? I kept thinking to myself, “This is our Max Payne.”
No, it’s not just because the Novocaine protagonist and Max Payne’s titular character have names that rhyme, though that is fun to think about. Instead, it’s more to do with the way he can get beat down and keep getting back up while pulling off some stuff that would pretty much kill anyone else. The action, the wisecracks, the tormented character, all of it just kept giving me serious Max Payne vibes throughout much of the movie.
His Work On The Boys Has Shown He Can Pull Off The ‘I’m In Way Over My Head’ Aspect Of The Character
Though I’m not fully caught up with The Boys, I’ve watched it enough to know that it’s one of the best Prime Video shows and yet another great showcase of Jack Quaid’s dynamic acting skills. And plus, his character, Hughie Campbell, has a backstory that is strangely similar to that of Max Payne’s. He has no superpowers and no special abilities, but he does have the desire to avenge the death of a loved one no matter what he loses in the process.
And like Max, Hughie has that certain “I’m in way over my head but I’m still going to carry through with this because I’m a madman and have no other choice” quality to him, which honestly makes him even more endearing. Able to laugh through all the heartbreak and pain, he finds a way through. And I would love to see that energy translate into a portrayal of one of the most tormented video game characters of all time.
Quaid’s Wide Range Would Also Be Perfect For Max’s Moral Complexity
Is Max Payne the most honest, straightforward, or likable video game character of all time? No, because he’s not Solid Snake. All jokes aside, like the heroes and antiheroes of classic film noir movies, the central character in the Max Payne franchise has always had a certain moral complexity to him. Like, he thinks he’s doing the right thing, and most times he does, it’s just the way he goes about doing it is where things get messy.
Roles in movies like Oppenheimer, Companion, and even Scream show this dynamic range that makes me think Jack Quaid is more than up to the task of playing a pill-popping, gun-blazing mess of a man. He’d have to put on some grit to better capture the fractured soul of Payne, but I honestly think he could do it.
I Think He Could Handle The Character’s Lack Of Self-Awareness In A Great Way
Max Payne is sometimes an overly serious character (the 2008 movie just went too far in this regard) who lacks self-awareness in all the best ways. And I think Jack Quaid could effectively pull that off without the portrayal being dark and broody like the Mark Wahlberg interpretation of the character more than a decade and a half ago. He has a touch of irony in his voice in some of his bigger roles, and that could go a long way here.
One of my favorite aspects of the Max Payne games is the way in which it feels like the main character is not only having this ongoing inner monologue but also speaking to the player as they push through seedy hotels, drug-fueled nightclubs, and New York skyscrapers. It would be great and hilarious to hear Quaid say things like “He was trying to buy more sand for his hourglass, I wasn’t selling any” or “Collecting evidence had gotten old a few hundred bullets back.”
And Is It Me, Or Does Jack Quaid Look Like Max Payne From The First Game?
Before I go, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out the fact that I can’t get over how similar Jack Quaid looks to Max Payne from the first game. The in-game model, as well as the one featured in the various graphic novel cutscenes, was based on the likeness of Sam Lake, the game’s writer and creative director of Remedy Entertainment. I’ve included the image above to compare the two, and the resemblance is something. I can’t be the only one, right? Right?
Well, who knows if we’ll ever get another Max Payne movie, but it would be pretty sweet if we at least got a TV show based on the game with Jack Quaid playing the hard-boiled character.