Jack Quaid Recalls Thinking 'I Don't Look the Part' When First Approached About Voicing Superman (Exclusive)

When most people think of Superman, a broad-shouldered, muscular guy who can literally lift a car and move a building typically come to mind.

That perception made Jack Quaid think twice before accepting the job voicing Superman on My Adventures with Superman.

“I remember getting the audition and my first thought was sarcastically like, ‘Oh yeah, I'll be Superman,’” Quaid, 31, told PEOPLE on Wednesday at the 2024 SCAD TVfest in Atlanta. “But to put my own spin on it has just been such an immense honor that I never thought I would ever get the chance to play because I know I don't look the part."

Quaid credited “the power of animation” with being able to change how viewers see superheroes.

“After seeing what they did with the character and how he's very much Clark [Kent] first, Superman second — not second, just Superman is the identity he's pretending to be, where deep down he's Clark — I love that spin on it,” he said.

The star of The Boys also loves that animation gives him the freedom to show up to work in loungewear.

“You can look like absolute hell and you can have a great day,” Quaid quipped. “I love the freedom it allows you. I love that I get to play around in this world, play a role that I never thought I'd play in a million years. It feels like you can go even further into the character in a lot of ways.”

Still, Quaid sometimes feels uncomfortable voicing Superman.

“It's been very weird to play Superman because saying the words ‘I am Superman,’ is a really weird thing to say,” he said. “It's impossible to say it without it seeming like a weird flex. But the fact that I got to play this character is just such an honor.”

If Quaid could pick one superpower, he would borrow one from Superman.

“This is going to be the most boring answer of all time: it's flight,” Quaid said of his dream power. “And I say anyone who says anything different is lying! You're flying. I know it's a pretty basic answer, but that and maybe I'd like to talk to animals just to see what they're thinking. I'll fly from port to port just talking to some critters.”

But Quaid believes talking to animals would “probably get old fast.”

“They'd probably just be like, ‘Where's the food?’” Quaid speculated.

And if Superman could lend his powers to us here on earth, Quaid knows what he’d want the hero to tackle first.

“Climate change,” Quaid said. “Superman, please just use your ice breath on the polarized cap for a little bit and we'll figure it out from there.”

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My Adventures with Superman is streaming now on Max.