The horror sequel Smile 2 has got a lot of noteworthy stars sharing in the terror of creepy smiles like Aladdin’s Naomi Scott who plays pop star Skye Riley, Euphoria’s Lukas Gage, and Kyle Gallner who returns as police officer Joel. But among the hallucinations the infamous pop star sees, there’s Ray Nicholson who perfectly channels his father, Jack Nicholson, displaying that terrifying grin of his. TikTok users are loving the resemblance of the father and son so much that a video has gone viral of the Smile 2 actor talking about how much he looks like his father.
In the gnarly trailer of Smile 2, Skye Riley looks among a crowd and sees a man in a white suit standing up and approaching her with the horror franchise’s signature frightening grin. If the man in the white suit looks familiar to you, it’s because he’s portrayed by Ray Nicholson, the son of The Shining’s Jack Nicholson. Social media users couldn’t ignore their resemblance who helped make a TikTok video of the 32-year-old actor go viral. Check out Entertainment Tonight’s interview with the Smile 2 actor talking about how much he looks like his dad:
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♬ original sound – Entertainment Tonight
It’s no wonder Entertainment Tonight’s TikTok video numbers are going up. With over 66,000 likes, 2,643 saves, and 4,940 shares, users are loving the uncanny resemblance. Many feel that Ray Nicholson definitely takes after his father with his eyes and smile. If you look back at one of Jack Nicholson’s best performances in The Shining, he could easily terrify audiences with that one maddening look he gave as he stared directly at the camera just like his son does in Smile 2. Both of those smiles have the gift of making you not want to look at it for too long which is perfect for any type of horror movie.
Like father like son, Ray Nicholson’s diving into the upcoming horror film Smile 2 is an excellent way to show his hereditary acting chops. When Entertainment Tonight asked Nicholson if the horror genre was always something he wanted to act in, here was his satisfying answer:
I always wanted to be an actor, you know? And this is the most amazing to get into it, you know? To be able to work with Parker who’s so talented and incredible and to be able to support Naomi. I’m just happy to be there and my face is my face, you know? And I want it in more things!
With critics beaming over the “memorably disturbing” sequel of Smile, I do not doubt in my mind that people will forget the memorable face of Ray Nicholson. He’s already lined up for the thriller Borderline where he’ll be playing an obsessed fan who stalks a pop star, played by Ready or Not’s Samara Weaving, in her home. The Panic actor will also play a role in the 2025 movie release of Novocaine with The Boys’ Jack Quaid starring as a bank executive who can’t feel pain set on a quest to rescue his girlfriend taken hostage in a bank robbery. These two upcoming movies should surely help Nicholson make a name for himself in Hollywood.
TikTok users loving Ray Nicholson’s resemblance of his famous father shows that he’s a fan-favorite and set to become an actor this generation will fall in love with. I’m psyched to see Nicholson’s versatility come out in many future roles going forward. You can see the Out of the Blue actor’s nightmarish grin and others in the 2024 movie release of Smile 2 in theaters on October 18th.
