Hollywood star channels his famous dad in creepy new horror film Smile 2-Joel Harley-Entertainment – Metro

Heeere’s Ray Nicholson (Picture: Paramount Pictures)

It’s the creepy new horror sequel frightening audiences with a sinister grin – featuring a malevolent curse which kills the afflicted by, uh, smiling at them.

Aladdin star Naomi Scott leads Parker Finn’s Smile 2, a follow-up to the 2022 supernatural thriller about a demonic entity which is spread through smiling.

Scott stars as global pop sensation Skye Riley, who contracts the curse after a run-in with her drug dealer takes a funny turn. Tormented by visions of grinning entities – which can manifest as anything from total strangers to figures from Skye’s past – the star is quickly running out of time.

And, in co-star Ray Nicholson, the film features the son of Hollywood royalty – the Joker himself, Jack Nicholson.

The family resemblance is clear – with Ray grinning from ear to ear in a manner which eerily recalls his dad’s famous roles in The Shining and Tim Burton’s Batman.

Ray plays Skye’s late partner, Paul Hudson, who shows up at a showbiz gala to terrify the poor pop star from beyond the grave.

Ray appears as Paul Hudson in Smile 2 (Picture: AP)

Dad Jack terrified audience in 1980’s The Shining (Picture: Getty Images)

Actor Ray, 32, is one of Jack Nicholson’s six (!) children from his relationship with actress Rebecca Broussard.

Born in 1992, Ray has gone on to follow in his father’s footsteps, making his screen debut in 2006’s The Benchwarmers. From this smaller role, he went on to appear in films like Promising Young Woman, Licorice Pizza and the TV series Panic.

Jack and Rebecca also had one daughter together, in actress and director Lorraine Nicholson, born in 1990.

Ray is one of Hollywood hellraiser Jack’s six children (Picture: Getty Images)

As one of Hollywood’s most legendary lotharios, Jack, 87, has four other children with separate women: Jennifer Nicholson, from wife Sandra Knight; Caleb Goddard, with Susan Anspach, and Honey Hollman, 41, with model Winnie Hollman.

He also reportedly fathered another daughter with waitress Jeannine Gourin in 1990 – estranged Tessa, who the actor has never acknowledged as his own.

He has been romantically linked to actress Lara Flynn Boyle, supermodel Kate Moss and Addams Family star Anjelica Huston (who he dated from 1973 to 1990).

Retired Jack emerges only to take in his favourite basketball team (Picture: AP)

Jack and Ray were pictured together last year at a basketball game in Los Angeles, sitting side-by-side as the now-reclusive star took in a match between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors.

The Easy Rider star has largely disappeared from the public eye in recent years and hasn’t appeared on screen since the 2010 romantic comedy How Do You Know.

Jack is now living a life of leisure, emerging only to cheer on his beloved LA Lakersat the occasional basketball game.

Jack stepped out to an LA Lakers playoff in May last year (Picture: Getty Images)

On channelling his famous father in Smile 2, Ray told Deadline: ‘We’re very different people. Obviously, I love him.’

‘He’s my inspiration. I ate dinner with him every night. I studied it, that’s how I learned to be a human being. So of course we’re gonna be kind of similar.’

Ray isn’t the only nepo baby to appear in the Smile series – following in the footsteps of Sosie Bacon, 32, who starred in the first film as Doctor Rose Cotter.

Actor Sosie is the daughter of Hollywood icons Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick.

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