He’s a “Shining” star — just like dad.
Jack Nicholson’s son Ray gave fans a fright — and a shock — when they saw him wildly grinning in the horror film “Smile 2,” out Friday.
That’s because Ray, 32, is a dead ringer for his 87-year-old Hollywood royalty father in Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 masterpiece “The Shining.”
The image of Jack rabidly breaking through a bathroom door with an ax in the Stephen King movie, and shouting “Heeeere’s Johnny!,” is seared onto the minds of generations of moviegoers.
Now, in “Smile 2,” Ray plays Paul, the dead boyfriend of pop star Syke Riley (Naomi Scott), who appears in nightmarish visions and flashbacks.
Ray, whose mom is Jack’s former partner Rebecca Broussard, told Deadline at the premiere that his lookalike pop is his “inspiration.”
“Well, you know, we’re very different people,” Ray said. “I was born in 1992, he was born in 1937. The things that affect me don’t necessarily affect him. I love him. He’s my inspiration.”
The actor, who was born in Los Angeles, added that three-time Oscar winner Jack influenced his acting in subtle ways throughout his childhood.
“I ate dinner with him every night,” he said. “I studied it. That’s how I learned how to be a human being. Of course, we’re going to be kind of similar.”
“As far as talking about [acting], if he ever did tell me something, I probably wouldn’t investigate it for myself because I’d be like, ‘You’re the best, of course, that’s right,’ and it might not work for me.”
Jack has six children: Jennifer, 60, Caleb, 53, Honey, 43, Lorraine, 33, Ray, 32, and Tessa, 29. He no longer makes regular public appearances, but he delighted fans last year when he attended several Los Angeles Lakers games.
“Smile 2” isn’t Ray’s first time in front of the camera. He’s appeared in 10 films — including Best Picture nominees “Licorice Pizza” and “Promising Young Woman” — and the Amazon series “Panic.”
But “Smile 2” could be the biggest.
The freaky flick made $2.5 million in Thursday previews, and is expected to gross as much as $25 million through the weekend.
