Jack Nicholson whose original name is John Joseph Nicholson, is a famous Holly actor. Jack has delivered several outstanding performances during his career for around six decades. He was born April 22, 1937, in Neptune New Jersey.
Jack’s father abandoned his family and that meant that Jack grew up believing his mother June was his sister and that his actual grandmother, Ethel May, was his sister!
Are you confused now – it’s very confusing! Anyway, after graduating from high school, where he worked in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s department for animation.
“The Trip” was the first movie that Jack wrote. However, he achieved his breakthrough in his career with the famous movie “Easy Rider” which earned him an Oscar nomination for the first time.
Jack’s career starts to peak during the 1980s when he delivered mind-blowing performances including “Batman”, “The Witches of Eastwick,” “The String” And “A Few Good Men” among others. Amazingly, Jack Nicholson has featured in over sixty movies And appeared in about ten television shows. He has also won three Academy Awards.
Below is a collection of Quotes about Jack Nicholson that will leave you cracking your ribs.
Jack Nicholson Quotes
1. “I’m an actor who they said was wrinkled And balding And everything else when I was in my early 30’s. Most of the people who wrote that who thought they were younger than me are now bald And wrinkled.”– Jack Nicholson
2. “It’s a slight stretch of the imagination but most people are alike in most ways so I’ve never had any trouble identifying with the character that I’m playing.”– Jack Nicholson
3. “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.”– Jack Nicholson
4. “My whole career strategy has been to build a base so that I could take the roles I want to play. I’d hate to think that a shorter part might not be available because I was worried about my billing.”– Jack Nicholson
5. “In other words, I wouldn’t like to be an actor if I could only be real. I like to get wild, behaviorally wild, And it’s crazy to think of any form where it’s just one way.”– Jack Nicholson
6. “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.”– Jack Nicholson
7. “One of my school friends’ parents owned a minigolf course, And a bunch of us kids would play there all day in the summer. Two-under deuces was a good score.”– Jack Nicholson
8. “Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It’s AIDS, it’s herpes, it’s this, it’s that. Ask any saloon owner what’s happened to social life in America And they’ll tell you it’s a different world And these people are strongly misinformed by the media, peer pressure.”– Jack Nicholson
9. ” If I go into a restaurant there’s a very good chance that I’m going to spend my time being the mayor. If I want to have a good time, I’m happier having dinner here.”– Jack Nicholson
10. “When I am cast in a movie where I feel that the woman’s part is more interesting, I usually start thinking about Spencer Tracy And Fred Astaire. They seem to be the most clear actors when working with women.”– Jack Nicholson
11. “Played tennis for years. But you can’t improve at tennis after you’re 50. You get to be in your 40s, And suddenly you’re a doubles player.”– Jack Nicholson
12. “I’ve never been able to say I’ve been influenced by a list of artists I like because I like thousands And thousands And I’ve been influenced in some way by all of them.”– Jack Nicholson
13. “In my last year of school, I was voted Class Optimist And Class Pessimist. Looking back, I realize I was only half right.”– Jack Nicholson
14. “One of my school friends’ parents owned a minigolf course, And a bunch of us kids would play there all day in the summer. Two-under deuces was a good score.”– Jack Nicholson
15. “I worry from the moment I take a job. I worry about how I’m going to do it, if I can do it… Then I walk on set And the director says, ‘Roll’, And all of a sudden, all of it disappears And it’s all happening, And I relax, And I’m doing what I do, And I’m not even thinking about it.”– Jack Nicholson
16. “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.”– Jack Nicholson
17. “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.”– Jack Nicholson
18. “It’s the post-literate generation that is most disturbing to a movie-maker. The explosions And the knifings. people like to go to what’s hot And you can’t get past a certain gross unless you involve children who go more than once.”– Jack Nicholson
19. “There are short parts that I as an actor am very right for. Or I just like the part. Or you need someone like me for the movie. By that I don’t mean at the box office, I mean in the execution of the material.”– Jack Nicholson
20. “I think that’s what distinguishes Schmidt, really. In the movies now, so much of what is appealing to an audience is the dramatic or has to do with science fiction, And Schmidt is simply human. There’s no melodrama; there’s no device, It’s just about a human being.”– Jack Nicholson
21. “A lot of people can’t remember things because they weren’t actually there to begin with – they don’t take it all in.”– Jack Nicholson
22. “Because you know, down deep in my heart, when all is said And done, I still live under the illusion that basically people think of me as an up-and-coming young actor.”– Jack Nicholson
23. “Well, a younger woman is a type, but not necessarily a type for me. And what is a younger woman? I mean, I’m pretty old. Almost everyone is younger”– Jack Nicholson
24. I”t’s a slight stretch of the imagination but most people are alike in most ways so I’ve never had any trouble identifying with the character that I’m playing.”– Jack Nicholson
25. “You can follow the action, which gets you good pictures. You can follow your instincts, which will probably get you in trouble. Or, you can follow the money, which nine times out of ten will get you closer to the truth.”– Jack Nicholson
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26. “It [TV] is the cancer of film. It’s why people can’t be educated to film. In the late ’60s, we expected to see a movie or two every week And be stimulated, excited And inspired. And we did. Every week after week. Antonioni, Goddard, Truffaut – this endless list of people. And then comes television And home video. I know how to work exactly for the big screen, but it doesn’t matter what I think about the art of movie-making versus TV.”– Jack Nicholson
27. “My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch.”– Jack Nicholson
28. “I’ve been too many places. I’m like the bad penny.”– Jack Nicholson
29. “The blues And jazz will live forever… So will the Delta And the big Easy.”– Jack Nicholson
30. “I’ve spent more time playing golf than anything else the last 18 years. Just wanted to be an 80s-shooter. Got there, too.”– Jack Nicholson
31. “Well, I’m not going to sit here And pretend that I haven’t been a rogue most of my life.”– Jack Nicholson
32. “There were points in my life where I felt oddly irresistible to women. I’m not in that state now And that makes me sad.”– Jack Nicholson
33. “With comedy, you have to do it right. In a drama, there’s a lot of different ways to succeed in a moment. But comedy comes from reality. You can’t try to be funny.”– Jack Nicholson
34. “You only lie to two people in your life: your girlfriend And the police. Everybody else you tell the truth to.”– Jack Nicholson
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35. “There’s nobody in there, that he didn’t, in the most important way support. He was my life blood to whatever I thought I was going to be as a person. And I hope he knows that this is not all hot air. I’m going to cry now.”– Jack Nicholson
36. “I’ve always thought basketball was the best sport, although it wasn’t the sport I was best at. It was just the most fun to watch. … Even as a kid it appealed to me. The basketball players were out at night. They had great overcoats. There was this certain nighttime juvenile-delinquent thing about it that got your blood going.”– Jack Nicholson
Video – Best of Jack Nicholson
This is a fun short video that will remind you of how amazing he has been. There are clips from all of his best roles.
Summary
Jack Nicholson boasted a prolific career as a filmmaker and actor in some of the most famous movies. Jack has received many awards for his acting roles and he is fun to watch on screen.
In recent years, Jack has been experiencing issues with memory loss and so he has retired from acting. And that is why we are not seeing him in any new roles. But if you want to honor him, you can probably find some of his movies on Netflix or Amazon Prime and watch them this week!
Image Credit: Witchblue, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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