Smile 2 director cast Jack Nicholson's son to pay homage to The Shining

Smile 2 director Parker Finn cast Jack Nicholson's son Ray Nicholson in his new movie to pay homage to his father's horror classic The Shining.

The director confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that he "totally" cast Ray because his smile looks eerily similar to his father's iconic crazed look in the "Here's Johnny" sequence in the 1980 horror.

"I think I'm always trying to reference The Shining. With Ray, he auditioned for that role. The audition was so strong. Of course, Jack Nicholson is one of my favourite actors of all time. I love that Ray has very strong genes, and his smile, instantly, I was like, 'Oh my God, it's like looking at a young Jack'," Finn told EW. "What really struck me was how well he slipped into that venomous but charming character he's playing in the film. He could bring again that feeling of, I'm really, really anxious, but part of it is also tickling me."

In the horror sequel, Ray plays Paul Hudson, the late husband of Naomi Scott's lead pop star character Skye Riley. Once she is afflicted with the curse, she is haunted by creepy smiling people, including the late Paul.

Finn noted that he didn't write the role for Ray, 32, but his connection to The Shining ended up being a "wonderful kismet" that they used to their advantage.

In addition to the uncanny smile, Finn also paid homage to The Shining with Ray's costume and the colour palette of his key scene.

"As I was working with my costume designer, Alexis Forte, we started trying stuff on Ray for that scene, and as soon as we put what became the costume in the film on him, we were like, 'Oh my God, this is The Shining. He looks exactly like Jack,'" he shared.

Jack, 87, has never officially retired from acting, however, he has not appeared in a film since 2010's How Do You Know.

Smile 2 is in cinemas now.