We haven't seen acting legend Jack Nicholson on screen in a while, and it's looking more
likely that we never will again. Let's break down the latest reveal about the actor's life that's got everyone talking
After appearing in Western TV shows, soap operas, and on stage, he made his film debut
in 1958, playing the lead role in the low-budget teen movie The Crybaby Killer, produced by
B-movie impresario Roger Corman. Their relationship led to a huge leap forward for Nicholson's career
In 1967, Corman tapped Nicholson to write the screenplay for his psychedelic film The Trip
Starring Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper, Corman said to Flavor Wire, "...his career wasn't really doing that much at that time
I knew he had experience with LSD, so I hired him as a writer.
Corman's scrappy circle of actors and artists were key players in the burgeoning countercultural
film movement, and Fonda, Hopper, and Nicholson reunited for the hippie biker classic Easy Rider
in 1969. Easy Rider follows two hippie drifters, Billy and Wyatt, as they make their way via
motorcycle from Los Angeles to New Orleans. Along the way, they encounter a free-love commune
drugs, and suspicious townsfolk. They also meet Nicholson's George Hansen, an alcoholic ACLU lawyer and self-described square. It's George who articulates the film's
us versus their mentality. After Easy Rider, Jack Nicholson spent the 1970s banging out some
of the best performances of his or any actor's career. He rang in the 1980s with what has become
one of his best-known films, The Shining. In his book, Stanley Kubrick and Me, 30 Years at His Side
Kubrick's longtime assistant Emilio D'Alessandro recalled the director explaining why he was
determined to cast Nicholson writing You see everything about Jack is perfect for this role his expression even the way he walks He doesn need anything extra to play this part It all already there inside him
Nicholson took to the murderous Jack Torrance like a fish to water. Kubrick and D'Alessandro were convinced of Nicholson's genius
but upon the release of The Shining in 1980, critics were less forgiving
The Washington Post lambasted the clownish performance by Nicholson, doing impressions of The Big Bad Wolf, Quasimodo, and the films of Lon Chaney
Even Stephen King criticized the performance, telling Deadline, The character of Jack Torrance has no arc in that movie. All he does is get crazier
In the movie, there's no tragedy because there's no real change. Time has been kind to The Shining, which is now considered a horror masterpiece
and many publications have changed their tune since 1980. Even after decades of achieving critical acclaim and accolades
The 1990s saw Jack Nicholson maintaining a soft spot for B-movie-style horror and lower-budget
films that appealed to younger fans. Indeed, an underrated Nicholson film, Tim Burton's 1996 satire Mars Attacks, recalls some of the actor's early freewheeling productions
According to Burton, who was familiar with Nicholson's cartoonish abilities from their
time-making Batman, the actor was eager to dive into Mars Attacks. Burton told ArtsBeat LA in 1996
I remember that, at first, Jack wanted to create a multi-role tour de force performance
When I asked him which part he wanted to play, he replied, How about all of them
As a concession, Burton developed two parts for Nicholson, one opposite Glenn Close, the other opposite Annette Bening
Although Nicholson has left the door open for the possibility of another big-screen appearance
Nicholson's last feature film role came in the 2010 romantic comedy How Do You Know
Far from a commercial or critical hit, The film was widely panned and bombed at the box office but the result was disappointing because Nicholson had previously collaborated with writer director and producer James L Brooks on both terms of endearment and As Good As It Gets Each of those films earned Nicholson an Oscar win
Clearly, the third time wasn't the charm for this creative pairing. Brooks hasn't written
or directed a feature film since How Do You Know, and Nicholson quietly made it his swan song
Since then, he's made a couple of appearances in the spotlight, but never in a true acting capacity. For instance, in 2015, Nicholson gave a short
presentational monologue as part of the Saturday Night Live 40th anniversary special
In a 2013 interview with Vanity Fair, Nicholson said that he was not yet retired
but he admitted feeling less of a drive to act. However, he told the outlet
The movie business is the greatest business, but I only want to do films that move people
films about emotions and people. Without question, Jack Nicholson is one of the most famous actors in modern Hollywood
His distinctive snark and expressive face made him an icon with one of the most impressive
resumes in the business. Nicholson has changed the face of cinema with roles in genre-defining
films like The Shining, Chinatown, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Batman, A Few Good Men
The Departed, and several more. But as the years march on, it seems more and more likely that
Nicholson won't star in a film again. Nicholson has never officially announced that he's done with
acting. Still, it's been over a decade since the star's last major role on the big screen
Some recent reports indicate that we may never see Nicholson in another film
In a November 2023 episode of his podcast WTF, Mark Maron briefly discussed Nicholson's career
with the actor's longtime friend and famed record producer Lou Adler. Jack Stone, he's doing whatever he really wants to do
Yeah, yeah, yeah. He wants to be quiet. Yeah. Adler added He wants to eat what he wants He wants to live the life he wants Marin then relayed a story suggesting that Nicholson truly is done with acting saying A friend of mine wanted to put him in a movie
He had a conversation with him, but Jack says, I don't want to do it. He goes
You know what I did today? I sat under a tree and I read a book. Laughing, Adler responded
That sounds like Jack. In all likelihood, Nicholson has played his last movie character
While that's a bittersweet thing to acknowledge for film fans, it's also more than fair
Nicholson was in his early 70s when he appeared in How Do You Know, and he's 86 now. At some point
retirement calls to everyone, but no actor has left a more lasting mark on the industry than he has
With a whopping 12 Academy Award nods, Nicholson is the most Oscar-nominated male actor in history
tied with Katharine Hepburn for second overall. Behind Meryl Streep's staggering 21 nominations
his three wins tie him with Daniel Day-Lewis, Streep, Frances McDormand, Walter Brennan
and Ingrid Bregman, all of whom share second place behind Hepburn's Four Winds
From noir detective movies and gangster flicks to psychological dramas and romantic comedies
Nicholson has dabbled in almost every genre of film. Of course, not every Nicholson film has been a home run. The 1992 crime biopic Hoffer was
meant to be a true star vehicle for Nicholson, but it landed mixed reviews and widespread
criticisms. The 2003 comedy Anger Management also fell flat. But who knows? Maybe he'll save
his formal swan song for one last Oscar grab. Nicholson has often been a controversial figure
in his personal life, and his career has encompassed everything from instant classics
to full-on flops. But at this point, no one would fault him for choosing to read a good book under
the trees over returning to the spotlight. What the hell's wrong with freedom
man? That's what it's all about. Oh yeah, that's right. That's what it's all about, all right