Jack Nicholson

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Birthday:

22 April 1937, Neptune, New Jersey, USA

Birth Name:

John Joseph Nicholson

Height:

177 cm

Jack Nicholson, an American actor, producer, director and screenwriter, is a three-time Academy Award winner and twelve-time nominee. Nicholson is also notable for being one of two actors - the other being Michael Caine - who have received Oscar nomination in every decade from the 1960s through the early 2000s.Nicholson was born on April 22, 1937 in Neptune, New Jersey. He was raised believing that his grandmother was his mother, and that his mother, June Frances Nicholson, a showgirl, was his older sister. He discovered the truth in 1975 from a Time magazine journalist who was researching a profile on him. His real father is believed to have been either Donald Furcillo, an Italian-American showman, or Eddie King (Edgar Kirschfeld), born in Latvia and also in show-business. Jack's mother's ancestry was Irish, English, as well as German, Scottish and Welsh.Nicholson made his film debut in a B-movie titled The Cry Baby Killer (1958). His rise in Hollywood was far from meteoric, and for years, he sustained his career with guest spots in television series and a number of Roger Corman films, including The Little Shop of Horrors (1960).Nicholson's first turn in the director's chair was for Drive, He Said (1971). Before that, he wrote the screenplay for The Trip (1967), and co-wrote Head (1968), a vehicle for The Monkees. His big break came with Easy Rider (1969) and his portrayal of liquor-soaked attorney George Hanson, which earned Nicholson his first Oscar nomination. Nicholson's film career took off in the 1970s with a definitive performance in Five Easy Pieces (1970). Nicholson's other notable work during this period includes leading roles in Roman Polanski's noir masterpiece Chinatown (1974) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which he won his first Best Actor Oscar.The 1980s kicked off with another career-defining role for Nicholson as Jack Torrance in Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's novel The Shining (1980). A string of well-received films followed, including Terms of Endearment (1983) which earned Nicholson his second Oscar; Prizzi's Honor (1985) and The Witches of Eastwick (1987). He portrayed another renowned villain, The Joker, in Tim Burton's Batman (1989). In the 1990s, he starred in such varied films as A Few Good Men (1992), for which he received another Oscar nomination, and a dual role in Mars Attacks! (1996).Although a glimpse at the darker side of Nicholson's acting range reappeared in The Departed (2006), the actor's most recent roles highlight the physical and emotional complications one faces late in life. The most notable of these is the unapologetically misanthropic Melvin Udall in As Good as It Gets (1997), for which he won his third Oscar. Shades of this persona are apparent in About Schmidt (2002), Something's Gotta Give (2003) and The Bucket List (2007). In addition to his Academy Awards and Oscar nominations, Nicholson has seven Golden Globe Awards, and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2001. He also became one of the youngest actors to receive the American Film Institute's Life Achievement award in 1994.Nicholson has five children: Eldest daughter Jennifer Nicholson (b. 1963), from his marriage to Sandra Knight which ended in 1968; Caleb James Goddard (b. 1970) with Susan Anspach; Honey Hollman (b. 1981) with Danish supermodel, Winnie Hollman; and Lorraine Nicholson (b. 1990) and Ray Nicholson (b. 1992) with Rebecca Broussard. Nicholson's longest relationship was the seventeen years he spent with actress Anjelica Huston; this ended when Broussard become pregnant with his child. Show less «

The average celebrity meets, in one year, ten times the amount of people that the average person meets in his entire life.

[on the $5 million he earned for A Few Good Men (1992)] It was one of the few times when it was money well spent.

[regarding Terms of Endearment (1983)] When I read the part, I knew I'd win the Oscar for it.

You only lie to two people in your life: your girlfriend and the police.

If you get an impulse in a scene, no matter how wrong it seems, follow the impulse. It might be something and if it ain't - take two!

A star on a movie set is like a time bomb. That bomb has got to be defused so people can approach it without fear.

[on the birth of his son after having had two daughters] I finally got it right.

When I come up against a director who has a concept that I don't agree with, or maybe I just haven't thought of it or whatever, I'd be more ...Show more »

When I come up against a director who has a concept that I don't agree with, or maybe I just haven't thought of it or whatever, I'd be more prone to go with them than my own because I want to be out of control as an actor, I want them to have the control, otherwise it's going to become predictably my work, and that's not fun. Show less «

I only take viagra when I am with more than one woman.

I'm not a raver anymore, all good things must come to an end.

I was particularly proud of my performance as the Joker. I considered it a piece of pop art.

My motto is: more good times.

A question you always ask in acting is, Where were you going if this scene didn't interrupt the movements of the character?

"You're new here, aren't you?" Nicholson, who rarely is seen in public without his sunglasses, replied when asked by a photographer to take ...Show more »

"You're new here, aren't you?" Nicholson, who rarely is seen in public without his sunglasses, replied when asked by a photographer to take off his glasses for a photo. Show less «

There's a period just before you start a movie when you start thinking, I don't know what in the world I'm going to do. It's free-floating a...Show more »

There's a period just before you start a movie when you start thinking, I don't know what in the world I'm going to do. It's free-floating anxiety. In my case, though, this is over by lunch the first day of shooting. Show less «

Every director implored me, "Jack, can't you talk a little bit faster?" It was like a hot button for me and I would become hateful. So when ...Show more »

Every director implored me, "Jack, can't you talk a little bit faster?" It was like a hot button for me and I would become hateful. So when Roman started to say it, I began and he said, "Jack, this movie is 100-and-something pages long. To have a movie that is screen able, you'll have to talk a little faster". [Roman Polanski directed him in Chinatown (1974)]. Show less «

[on turning down the role played by Robert Redford in The Sting (1973)] I liked the period, the whole project and I knew it would be commerc...Show more »

[on turning down the role played by Robert Redford in The Sting (1973)] I liked the period, the whole project and I knew it would be commercial. But at the time, I needed to put my energies into a movie that really needed them. I needed to take a risk. Show less «

[on being nominated for an Oscar for the third time for The Last Detail (1973)] The first time I was up for an Oscar, I thought I would win ...Show more »

[on being nominated for an Oscar for the third time for The Last Detail (1973)] The first time I was up for an Oscar, I thought I would win it. But I didn't have as sharp a view as I do now. The second time... I expected to lose, and deservedly lose, to George C. Scott. But even getting a nomination blows my mind. I'd love to win but now that I've had several good performances that people at large have liked, it becomes harder to excite them. And familiarity breeds contempt. Show less «

So I mean it when I say that if you can't appreciate Brando, I wouldn't know how to talk to you. If there's anything obvious in life, this i...Show more »

So I mean it when I say that if you can't appreciate Brando, I wouldn't know how to talk to you. If there's anything obvious in life, this is it. Other actors don't go around discussing who is the best actor in the world, because it's obvious - Marlon Brando is. Show less «

I don't want people to know what I'm actually like. It's not good for an actor.

I'm very contra my constituency in terms of abortion because I'm positively against it. I don't have the right to any other view. My only em...Show more »

I'm very contra my constituency in terms of abortion because I'm positively against it. I don't have the right to any other view. My only emotion is gratitude, literally, for my life. Show less «

[on Stanley Kubrick] Just because you're a perfectionist doesn't mean you're perfect.

Beer, it's the best damn drink in the world.

(1992) I don't believe in God now. I can still work up an envy for someone who has a faith. I can see how that could be a deeply soothing ex...Show more »

(1992) I don't believe in God now. I can still work up an envy for someone who has a faith. I can see how that could be a deeply soothing experience. Show less «

As an actor, I have no desire for anybody to understand my past work. Period.

(1996) I just wish every film I liked wasn't either foreign or made in America but with such terrible difficulty. This is the worst period e...Show more »

(1996) I just wish every film I liked wasn't either foreign or made in America but with such terrible difficulty. This is the worst period ever for trying to do interesting work. Show less «

With my sunglasses on, I'm Jack Nicholson. Without them, I'm fat and seventy.

I would be so happy if I didn't smoke, for a lot of reasons. I can't believe that I can't break the habit. I don't want to be lying around, ...Show more »

I would be so happy if I didn't smoke, for a lot of reasons. I can't believe that I can't break the habit. I don't want to be lying around, dying in Cedar's Sinai Hospital and thinking that I was as stupid enough, a man who is as petrified of dying as I am, to have done it to myself. I'm a real fraidy-cat about mortality. Show less «

The thing I like about The Joker is that his sense of humor is completely tasteless.

We were moving to a freer society before AIDS. Most people who investigated this knew that if you were not shooting up or getting f***ed in ...Show more »

We were moving to a freer society before AIDS. Most people who investigated this knew that if you were not shooting up or getting f***ed in the heinie, you were as likely to get AIDS as you were to have a safe fall on your head while walking down Wilshire Boulevard. But you could not proselytize this view. The facts were almost useless. You couldn't give a woman the facts and have her respond, 'Oh, all right.' Show less «

I think it is very unattractive for me to be seen fawning over little, tiny girls. I didn't feel that for a long time but now I do. If I cou...Show more »

I think it is very unattractive for me to be seen fawning over little, tiny girls. I didn't feel that for a long time but now I do. If I could slip them out the back entrance wrapped in a blanket, that's a different story. (February 2004) Show less «

[on Jessica Lange] She is like a delicate fawn, but crossed with a Buick.

I've grown out of talking like I know something when I don't.

Explaining his controversial remarks on the death of Heath Ledger: What I actually said was, 'I warned them.' I had a bad experience with th...Show more »

Explaining his controversial remarks on the death of Heath Ledger: What I actually said was, 'I warned them.' I had a bad experience with those sleeping pills that Ledger apparently took. I took one of these pills and had just gone to sleep when I had a phone call to go to an emergency at a friend's house. I jumped up, went outside and some time later woke up on the driveway. It sounds amusing but I live in the mountains and it could've been worse. I didn't know Heath Ledger, but I know those pills. Show less «

Star quality is if you're on stage and a cat walks on and they still watch you.

It's not so nice when you are 71 and looking for some action. I feel uncomfortable doing it in the limelight - so from now on I'll do it whe...Show more »

It's not so nice when you are 71 and looking for some action. I feel uncomfortable doing it in the limelight - so from now on I'll do it when it's right. Happily, when it comes to girls hitting on me, I'm not undernourished. Show less «

[When asked would he see The Dark Knight (2008)] I'm not inclined to watch it because of what I said. But if it's a good movie, I'll catch u...Show more »

[When asked would he see The Dark Knight (2008)] I'm not inclined to watch it because of what I said. But if it's a good movie, I'll catch up with it somewhere. I don't think they ever really captured Tim Burton's spirit [since he stopped being involved]. They kind of drove the franchise into the ground. Tim Burton's a genius. He had the right take on it. That's why I did the movie. I did the movie based on a single conversation with him. We both come from the cartoon world originally. We had similar ideas. Tim said the Joker should have a humorous dark side to him. Burton is one of the great movie makers. I think the world of him. He's the most unassuming man. And he doesn't feel pressure. That's what I love about him. Once he's in there, he's smiling making the movie. That's it! Show less «

I come from the Lynchs of Sligo (Ireland). You know, I went there, but I looked in the phone book and there are nine million Lynchs in Sligo...Show more »

I come from the Lynchs of Sligo (Ireland). You know, I went there, but I looked in the phone book and there are nine million Lynchs in Sligo. Show less «

There's no one before or since like Marlon Brando. The gift was enormous and flawless, like [Pablo Picasso]. Brando was a genius who was the...Show more »

There's no one before or since like Marlon Brando. The gift was enormous and flawless, like [Pablo Picasso]. Brando was a genius who was the beginning and end of his own revolution. You didn't rush him. He had a tremendous gift just in his stillness. I was in high school when I saw The Wild One (1953). He changed my life forever... a monumental artist. There was no way to follow in his footsteps. He was just too large and just too far out of sight. He truly shook the world, and his influence will be there long into the future. Show less «

[on Stanley Kubrick] Everyone pretty much acknowledges him as The Man, and I still think that underrates him.

I was talking to Sean Penn on the phone today. I told him it was interesting that they managed to leave me off this long list of Method acto...Show more »

I was talking to Sean Penn on the phone today. I told him it was interesting that they managed to leave me off this long list of Method actors they'd published in some article. I told him, "I'm still fooling them!" I consider it an accomplishment. Because there's probably no one who understands Method acting better academically than I do, or actually uses it more in his work. But it's funny -- nobody really sees that. It's perception versus reality, I suppose. Show less «

For a long time, I was afraid to be alone. I had to learn how to be alone. And there are still times when I think, Uh-oh! I gotta talk to so...Show more »

For a long time, I was afraid to be alone. I had to learn how to be alone. And there are still times when I think, Uh-oh! I gotta talk to somebody here or I'm gonna go crazy! But I like to be alone. Now I do. I really do. There's a big luxury in solitude. Show less «

After September 11, I held my tongue. All of the public positions had been taken -- for, against, good, evil. I had nothing more to add. So ...Show more »

After September 11, I held my tongue. All of the public positions had been taken -- for, against, good, evil. I had nothing more to add. So I thought, Bring in the clowns, you know what I mean? That's why I've done a coupla years' worth of comedies. Show less «

[on On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970)] All I am in the movie is bad.

[on Professione: reporter (1975)] Antonioni says he just tries to make something beautiful because truth is beautiful and beauty is truth. T...Show more »

[on Professione: reporter (1975)] Antonioni says he just tries to make something beautiful because truth is beautiful and beauty is truth. That's what I'm really into. I like making beautiful things. Maybe that sounds ridiculous but when I choose a film to do, it's because it interests me in that way rather than any other. I look at every character I play on the screen as being completely separate. You can say most of them are outsiders, but it's hard today to think of any character in a film who isn't an outsider. All I ask is that they relate to the truth in some way. Show less «

I hate giving advice, because people won't take it.

[on his signature glasses] They're prescription. That's why I wear them. A long time ago, the Middle American in me may have thought it was ...Show more »

[on his signature glasses] They're prescription. That's why I wear them. A long time ago, the Middle American in me may have thought it was a bit affected maybe. But the light is very strong in southern California. And once you've experienced negative territory in public life, you begin to accept the notion of shields. I am a person who is trained to look other people in the eye. But I can't look into the eyes of everyone who wants to look into mine; I can't emotionally cope with that kind of volume. Sunglasses are part of my armor. Show less «

I love discourse. I'm dying to have my mind changed. I'm probably the only liberal who read Treason, by Ann Coulter. I want to know, you und...Show more »

I love discourse. I'm dying to have my mind changed. I'm probably the only liberal who read Treason, by Ann Coulter. I want to know, you understand? I like listening to everybody. This to me is the elixir of life. Show less «

I'm the age where we didn't have television as kids. So when I saw my nieces and nephews watching Howdy Doody (1954), Kukla, Fran and Ollie ...Show more »

I'm the age where we didn't have television as kids. So when I saw my nieces and nephews watching Howdy Doody (1954), Kukla, Fran and Ollie (1969), and so forth, I thought the world had gone mad. Show less «

I always hesitate to say things like this in interviews because they tend to come back to haunt you, but if I were an Arab-American, I would...Show more »

I always hesitate to say things like this in interviews because they tend to come back to haunt you, but if I were an Arab-American, I would insist on being profiled. This is not the time for civil rights. There are larger issues for Americans. Show less «

I'd prefer if people had no impressions of me. As a kid, I had to tell my own family, "Please, just don't talk about me!" Because they alway...Show more »

I'd prefer if people had no impressions of me. As a kid, I had to tell my own family, "Please, just don't talk about me!" Because they always got it wrong. Always. I just didn't want them to tell anyone anything about me. God knew, they had a great opinion and they loved me and meant well, but it was like, Please, you don't have this right. You know what I mean? Show less «

I don't know if this is a true statistic, but I heard somewhere that there are three times as many single women over forty as single men. Th...Show more »

I don't know if this is a true statistic, but I heard somewhere that there are three times as many single women over forty as single men. That's what we got from the women's movement. The chickens have come home to roost. Show less «

The less people know about me, the easier my job is.

[on Debra Winger] She's real smart, very dedicated, extremely resourceful about her work. You put up with her contentiousness because there ...Show more »

[on Debra Winger] She's real smart, very dedicated, extremely resourceful about her work. You put up with her contentiousness because there is always something at the bottom. You get something you wouldn't get unless you took the trip with her. The girl's got boom. Show less «

(2011, on his own own mortality) One of the toughest parts of aging is losing your friends. At first it starts quietly, then pretty soon it'...Show more »

(2011, on his own own mortality) One of the toughest parts of aging is losing your friends. At first it starts quietly, then pretty soon it's every month, and you can't help but think, "When is that bell going to go off for me?" And on top of that you feel this constant loss. At this time of life, you feel just a sword's point from death. It's frightening - who wants to face God and the clear white light? I know I definitely don't. Yet. Show less «

(2011) I am from a different era of movie acting. My career doesn't depend on explosions and pyrotechnics.

(2011) On set I'm an actor like every other actor. Most times, for every part I play, I can think of other actors who would be better. I wor...Show more »

(2011) On set I'm an actor like every other actor. Most times, for every part I play, I can think of other actors who would be better. I worry from the moment I take a job. Show less «

(2011) I've had everything a man could ask for, but I don't know if anyone could say I'm successful with affairs of the heart. I don't know ...Show more »

(2011) I've had everything a man could ask for, but I don't know if anyone could say I'm successful with affairs of the heart. I don't know why. I would love that one last real romance. But I'm not very realistic about it happening. What I can't deny is my yearning. I've been in love in my life, but it always starts with obsession that lasts exactly 18 months and then it changes. If I'd known and been prepared for that, I may have been able to orchestrate the whole relationship thing better...But when I'm with someone I've often defied every one of my conventions. I've been so struck I've said, "Come on, let's go, let's get married." But no woman has ever recognized what I say as being legitimate. They think of my reputation, Jack the Jumper. I'm damned by what people think. Now I think I have a gap I won't ever cross. Show less «

(2011) I would never complain about my life, even though I really would like to have a mate. It's not like I'm starved for company - I have ...Show more »

(2011) I would never complain about my life, even though I really would like to have a mate. It's not like I'm starved for company - I have a few very good lady friends - but there's only a certain amount of times a woman wants to see you and never go out for dinner. I got tired of arguing with women about going to have dinners, so I hired somebody to cook. The food is better at my house. Show less «

I'm not worried about wrinkles, in myself or in women. I find them interesting. I can't see so well, so sometimes I look in the mirror and I...Show more »

I'm not worried about wrinkles, in myself or in women. I find them interesting. I can't see so well, so sometimes I look in the mirror and I see how I was as a young man. Show less «

I'm so rich that I'm going to sell myself like an ordinary person. I'm not into money at all.

[advice to Harry Dean Stanton on screen-acting] Just let the wardrobe be the character. You play yourself. That's the way you approach it.

[on working with Michelangelo Antonioni on Professione: reporter (1975)] Antonioni was like a father figure to me. I worked with him because...Show more »

[on working with Michelangelo Antonioni on Professione: reporter (1975)] Antonioni was like a father figure to me. I worked with him because I wanted to be a film director and I thought I could learn from a master. He's one of the few people I know that I ever really listened to. Show less «

[on Michelle Pfeiffer] She's a good egg, I'm crazy about her... You couldn't really say Michelle is glacial, but there's obviously something...Show more »

[on Michelle Pfeiffer] She's a good egg, I'm crazy about her... You couldn't really say Michelle is glacial, but there's obviously something oscillating beneath the surface there. Her first look at people is "Yeah, well, what do you want?" It's a form of protection because she's very sensitive. You never could steamroll Michelle. She's always very tough in that sense. Show less «

[on Heath Ledger's death] I warned him of the stress, the pressure, and the expectations that comes with that Joker character.

[on working with Martin Scorsese in The Departed (2006)] We wanted to create a really bad man, basically a villain who was pretty flamboyant...Show more »

[on working with Martin Scorsese in The Departed (2006)] We wanted to create a really bad man, basically a villain who was pretty flamboyant and somebody who you wanted them to get pretty bad. I thought it would bring out the best in Marty. Show less «