Ray Nicholson Says He Was 'Really Scared' to Tell His Father About Acting
Ray Nicholson, son of the actor Jack Nicholson, says he was "really scared to tell dad" that he wanted to act. He talked about it with his sister, Lorraine Nicholson, in a conversation for Interview magazine, as The Hollywood Reporter reported on 12 November 2026.
His own plans were not always about film. Nicholson said he first expected to attend Boston College and play football. Then came an injury. A football injury led to a staph infection, which developed into MRSA, a drug-resistant bacterial infection. At one point, he said, doctors came close to amputating his arm.
He recovered and went to the University of Southern California (USC), a university in Los Angeles with a well-known film school. There, he said, he learned to love everything about filmmaking. The move from the football field to the film set was a change of direction, and it came after a health scare that could have changed far more than a career plan.
The family connection is the other thread in the story. Jack Nicholson is one of the most recognised film actors of his generation, and the Hollywood Reporter piece notes that one of his last public appearances was the Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary special in February 2025. Ray Nicholson's comments suggest that speaking up about a career in the same field was not simple for him, even with a famous father already in the business.
Nothing in the interview points to a date for Ray Nicholson's next project, and no new film or role was announced in the report. What stands out is the candour. A young man who once planned for a sports scholarship now talks openly about the nerves of telling his father what he wanted to do with his life.
