Sports are the love language between Ray Nicholson and his father Jack Nicholson, as the actor opened up about their bond in a new interview.
Ray Nicholson discussed his acting career, his football past, and his family in a conversation published this week in Interview magazine, conducted by his sister Lorraine Nicholson, news.com.au reported.
- Ray Nicholson said that he and his father Jack connect primarily through sports rather than deep conversations.
- A severe staph infection and MRSA ended Ray’s high school football career before he pivoted to acting.
- Ray admitted he was initially scared to tell his father about pursuing a career in film and television.
“I love sports so much. It’s also the language of love that me and dad share. We can’t talk about a lot, but we can talk about the f**king Lakers until kingdom come,” Ray told Interview magazine.
Ray played football with high ambitions during his high school years. He initially believed he would take his athletic career directly to Boston College.
That trajectory stopped abruptly after a severe staph infection in his arm escalated into MRSA. Medical staff drew a strict boundary on his skin, warning him that amputation was imminent if the infection spread past the mark.
Following the abrupt end of his athletic aspirations, the Smile 2 star experienced what he called a "voice-of-god moment" that directed him toward acting.
“I was really scared to tell dad,” Ray told Interview magazine regarding his pivot to the entertainment industry. “But I went to USC and learned to love everything about filmmaking. My education really taught me that dad isn’t god. He’s not the only thing in this film industry. He’s a beautiful part of it, but a very small part.”
| Project | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Smile 2 | Actor | Recent theatrical release |
| The Mosquito Bowl | Tony Butkovich | Netflix film directed by Peter Berg |
Ray acknowledged the complex feelings he harbored toward the industry that shaped his upbringing. Last month, he explained to USA Today that his father’s profession created a distinct divide in his household.
“I think I had every right to be a little trepidatious. I grew up around it. It was the thing that made my family different,” Ray told USA Today. “It was the thing that took my dad away from my home. So, of course, I had different feelings about it.”
The interview coincides with promotional attention for his role in Netflix’s film The Mosquito Bowl. Directed by Peter Berg, the movie adapts Buzz Bissinger’s nonfiction book about elite college football players who enlisted in the US Marines during World War II.
“Yes, of course, making dad proud is high on my list, but this is really a way of finding who I am. And I feel that I’m on the right path to that,” Ray told Interview magazine.
