While doing my best to totally avoid spoilers for the new horror film Companion , I can say this: Josh, the character played by Jack Quaid, is not a good dude. You might be distracted by splashes of goofy charm, but when you see past that façade after the movie’s first act, you recognize a bad controlling aspect of his personality and an outsized expectation that the world owes him something. It’s a terrific character, and one that is particularly interesting to look at as it compares to Quaid’s other big villain role in the genre: Richie Kirsch in 2022’s Scream .
Earlier this week, I had the chance to interview the actor at the Los Angeles press day for Companion , and I asked about how he compares and contrasts Josh with his version of Ghostface – specifically pointing to their shared entitlement (the former in his relationship with women, and the latter in his relationship with the fictional Stab movie franchise ). Jack Quaid acknowledged the through line, but noted that a standout difference between the two parts is an extension of audience perception: They're sort of cut from the same cloth, but the difference for me is always like..
. Well in terms of how you reveal them, Josh is the antagonist throughout the course of the entire movie. And you more or less know that.
Richie, you save that all to the end, and he very much wants to be a Scream, or I guess Stab killer. He wants to be this like campy dude walking around with a knife and terrorizing people. That'.
