Jack Nicholson’s son Ray says he ‘could be dead’ if famous when young

For Ray Nicholson, it was too soon to love acting as a child.

Despite being the son of Jack Nicholson and actress Rebecca Broussard, the 33-year-old had no interest in following in his parents’ footsteps until later in life.

“I wanted to be an astronaut, and then maybe a sports agent,” he told People about his childhood dreams.

“I later realized that, yeah, deep down I’d always wanted to do this,” the “Smile 2” alum admitted.

“I think things happen when they do for a reason,” continued Nicholson. “If I’d had fame when I was younger, who knows — I could be dead. I feel so much for the people who had this at a young age, dealing with pictures of them coming out of bars. It’s just so hard.”

He shared that for a while, he lacked self-esteem to jump head first into the industry due to being a “chubby little kid.”

“I just don’t think I had the confidence,” Nicholson shared with the outlet. “So I took baby steps. I’ve had the same manager since I was young, and while I had a foot in the door, I always wanted to be able to audition as just Ray.”

When it came to his father’s career, Nicholson remembers thinking on his first day of acting class: “Was that good enough for seven Oscars?”

“There was this crippling pressure I put on myself,” he confessed.

Jack, 87, landed his first feature film role in the 1958 teen drama “The Cry Baby Killer” and 12 years later shot to stardom in “Five Easy Pieces” alongside Karen Black. He went on to win three Academy awards, three BAFTAs, seven Golden Globes, one SAG award and one GRAMMY.

But these days, Jack’s son is all grown up, and his acting career is in full swing.

Nicholson’s latest role is in the new action/thriller “Novocaine,” opposite the son of Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan, Jack Quaid, 32.

The young celebrity plays Simon, a bank robber whose heist goes sideways thanks to Quaid’s character, Nathan.

“We had a blast,” Nicholson reminisced about filming in Cape Town.

When he’s not on set, the Los Angeles resident can be found at home with his girlfriend, Sara Sampaio, and their dog.

“I’m not as well-traveled as you might think!” Nicholson teased.

And when he’s local, Nicholson enjoys yoga and fly-fishing. “Put me on a river and I’m happy,” he shared.

Meanwhile, his older sister, Lorraine, 34, is also in the business as a writer. Now that Nicholson has fully embraced his career, he does see himself possibly getting into screenwriting.

“I think that I have a unique perspective, and I’ve learned to embrace that rather than try to hide it, so I’ve been trying to flirt with writing a little bit,” he explained. “As for directing some day, there’s a lot that I need to learn. I would love to do it but I don’t know if I’d want to do it alone. But yeah, I mean, why limit yourself?”