Ray Nicholson Leads Peter Berg's Netflix War Film The Mosquito Bowl

Ray Nicholson auditioned for all four main characters in Peter Berg's The Mosquito Bowl, and he ended up playing one of them. He stars as Tony Butkovich, a football player who enlists in the Marines during the Second World War, The Hollywood Reporter reported.

The film is a Netflix release, and its full title is The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II. It is based on the nonfiction book of the same name by Buzz Bissinger. Netflix's synopsis says that in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, four college football stars enlist in the US Marines. The story centres on a football game played on Guadalcanal, in the Pacific, before the Battle of Okinawa.

Nicholson's audition came with an unusual step. He wrote a letter to Berg expressing his passion for the project. It was the first time he had done that for a role, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The rest of the lead group is Tom Francis, who plays Dave Schreiner, Bill Skarsgård, who plays Bob Bauman, and Nicholas Galitzine, who plays John McLaughry. Netflix released an official trailer on 12 October 2026 through its Tudum fan site.

Nicholson is the son of actor Jack Nicholson and actress Rebecca Broussard. Before this role he was known for supporting parts in Smile 2 and Novocaine. Here he moves into a lead, with his name at the top of a cast that has to carry a sports story set in a war.

The film had its world premiere at AFI Fest, held at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Netflix has the film on its service, and the streamer's own pages are where most viewers will find it.

For a general viewer, the story is easy to grasp. Four college football players go to war, and one game becomes a way to hold on to who they were before. The film is built around that small, specific idea, and the trailer gives a first look at how the cast plays it.