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Nicholson opens up about tapping into his devious side again in his latest role, while Weaving and husband/director Jimmy Warden reflect on their working relationship.
In their wild new thriller, Borderline, Ray Nicholson plays a fan obsessed with Samara Weaving’s ’90s pop star.
And while the two actors have never taken their fandom to the scary extremes of Nicholson’s Duerson … they still had their faves back in the day.
“I was really obsessed with Christina Aguilera, S Club 7, Justin Timberlake, all of the boy bands,” the Australian Weaving told TooFab ahead of the film’s March 14 release. When Nicholson quipped that she only specified Timberlake and not the rest of *NSYNC, she clarified that she loved the rest of the band and “all of the Backstreet Boys” as well.
While the film’s writer-director Jimmy Warden — who is also Weaving’s real-life husband — said he was more of an “Oasis family” in the ’90s, Nicholson — the son of Jack Nicholson and Rebecca Broussard — said he “grew up a Spice Girls fan.”
“I just listened to what my sister listened to, so that was big for me,” the 33-year-old actor continued, likely referring to sister Lorraine Nicholson, 34. “I played the game on Playstation,” he even said of the girl group’s 1998 Spice World video game, “it was awesome.”
While none of those acts make it into the film, Celine Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” plays a pivotal role in the movie. Warden told TooFab that one is his “go-to” Celine song, while both Weaving and Nicholson cited “My Heart Will Go On,” from Titanic, as their personal favorite.
For Nicholson, taking on the role of a stalker completely out of touch with reality gave the actor another chance to tap into his devious side — and equally mischievous grin — following his appearance in 2024’s Smile 2.
Leaning into those types of projects, said Nicholson, has been “really fun” — especially when you have the freedom to “kind of do anything,” while having a director “that you trust being like, ‘That’s too much.”
“That was the fun thing about this … it was just, you know, however much energy I had, I could put into it and it was right,” he added. “So that’s like the most fun that you can have as an experience as an actor.”
Warden told TooFab he knew Nicholson was perfect for the part when they met for coffee to discuss the film.
“He was late and he, you know, struts in with cowboy boots and baggy jeans and a Lakers jersey and sunglasses and I watched him order coffee and I watched him look around the scones that he didn’t order and to me, he didn’t have to audition,” said Warden. “To me, it was there. We talked about the role a little bit and decided on some things that we both wanted to get out of it and it was that easy for me.”
Magnolia Pictures
Warden also had an easy time collaborating with his wife on the film, their first time working in an actor-director capacity.
“I think we just had a silly goofy time. I was really blown away by … directing movies is so hard and I would never do it,” Weaving told TooFab, “and just the fact that he did it with grace and respect and you could lead a team like that during COVID as well, I was like, ‘Oh yeah, he’s got it, he can do this.'”
“She’s very easy to direct, so I guess I learned to lose respect for your other directors because it’s like, ‘Oh, it’s that easy?'” joked Warden.
“We were both shooting and usually when we’re on location together, it’s either one of us is sleeping — usually me — and you getting up at 4 am,” he added. “And it was like, riding to work together … it was very sweet … and we’re still together!”
Borderline hits theaters and on digital March 14, 2025.
