Over the span of his 50-year career, Jack Nicholson has graced the film industry with iconic movies like The Shining, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Terms of Endearment, As Good As It Gets, The Departed, and so many more. One of just a handful of actors to become a three-time Academy Award winner and the single most nominated male performer in the award's acting categories, it's hard to name a more accomplished star.
Though it's been roughly a decade since Nicholson retired from the silver screen, Hollywood is now rolling out the red carpet for Duke Nicholson, the A-lister's lookalike grandson. Born Duke Norfleet, the Los Angeles-native is the son of fashion designer Jennifer Nicholson and pro-surfer Mark Norfleet—though you may know him best for his reported relationship with the supermodel Bella Hadid. Read on to see him now and to find out who else in the family has caught the acting bug!
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Duke is an actor, like his famous grandfather.
Emma McIntyre/FilmMagic via Getty ImagesLike his A-list grandfather before him, Duke is now breaking into the world of cinema. So far, the actor has landed two major movie credits—one in Jordan Peele's 2019 horror film Us, and another in Nicholas Jarecki's 2021 drama Crisis. "It wasn't a big moment, like, 'I want to be an actor,'" Duke told The Hollywood Reporter of his decision to pursue acting. "It was just a gradual thing," he said.
In fact, Duke says that his original aspiration was to direct, but he changed course after starring in a series of music videos early in his career. He shared that Val Kilmer's son, Jack Kilmer, connected him with music video director Grant Singer—best known for working with artists like Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, and Troye Sivan—who cast him in videos for The Dandy Warhols and Slowdive. Soon after, he signed with a manager and began auditioning for film roles.
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Jordan Peele didn't know Duke's Hollywood heritage when he cast him in Us.
Roy Rochlin/FilmMagic via Getty ImagesDuke says that while celebrity connections may have prompted his music video roles, he landed his big break fair and square. He made an audition tape for Us—a four page scene from John Carpenter’s original Halloween screenplay—and sent it off, assuming he'd never hear back. "Two months later I got an email—'You got the role. Don’t cut your hair,'" he recalls.
Peele claims that when he cast the actor, he wasn't aware of his Hollywood connections. "Duke Nicholson is the carny," Peele told Hollywood Reporter. "He's always been the carny."
Still, his grandfather's films still loomed large over the shoot. "Jordan was like, 'Have you seen The Shining? You're my Lloyd,'" Duke recalled, referencing the classic horror film's bartender character. He says that while Peele's direction may have been coincidence, it also speaks to the influence of his grandfather's career. "I mean, The Shining is one of the greatest horror films of all time," Duke said.
You may recognize him from Lana Del Rey's latest album cover.
Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage via Getty ImagesIn addition to his film roles, you may also recognize Duke from Lana Del Rey's most recent album cover. "Lana is a friend of mine and she called me and said, 'Hey, we're doing the album cover tomorrow. You want to be on it?'" he recalled. The very next day, the pair set sail from Marina del Rey with the singer's photographer sister, Chuck Grant, in tow.
Duke says that he doesn't know why he was tapped to appear in the iconic image, but admitted he was happy to participate. "I just went with it," he said, adding, "I don’t try to analyze things too much."
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He's not the only young actor in the family.
JC Olivera/Getty ImagesDuke admits that he and his grandfather "don't talk about acting much," instead opting to watch sports together at family gatherings. Still, acting seems to run in the family, and Duke is not the only Nicholson offspring to hit the silver screen.
Ray Nicholson, the youngest of Jack Nicholson's five children, recently made headlines for starring on the new Amazon Prime series Panic. You may also recognize him from the 2006 film The Benchwarmers or last year's Academy Award-winning drama Promising Young Woman.
Additionally, Lorraine Nicholson, the Something's Gotta Give actor's youngest daughter, also seems to have caught the acting bug. She has appeared in The Princess Diaries 2, Soul Surfer, and others. Since 2013, she has begun directing short films including Life Boat, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
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