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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jack_nicholson.jpg]]
2 '''[[caption-width-right:350:[[Film/TheShining HERE'S JACKIE!]]]]'''
3
4->''"I don't want people to know what I'm actually like. It's not good for an actor."''
5
6You want us to [[JustForFun/DescribeTopicHere describe Jack Nicholson here]]? You want the TRUTH?!
7
8'''[[Film/AFewGoodMen YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!]]'''
9
10But if you ''insist''...If you want a candidate for the title of "best actor of all time", John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is the man -- though he's not so much an actor as a force of nature.
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12Nicholson is internationally renowned for his often dark-themed portrayals of neurotic characters, such as ComicBook/TheJoker in Creator/TimBurton's ''Film/Batman1989'' and Randle [=McMurphy=] in ''Film/OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest''. He's also known for keeping up his career, as he has to approve of the script personally to make the movie and thus often avoiding [[MoneyDearBoy only doing his roles for the money]]. However, his talents don't come cheap, and he set a record for the then-highest-paid single movie role of all time when he played the Joker.[[note]]He asked for $6 million upfront, down from the standard $10 million fee he had to star in a film in the late '80s, but on the condition that he receive a percentage of whatever profits the film made, including from Joker merchandise. This increased his total earnings to an estimated $60 million, although his 2013 biographer Marc Eliot claimed that the number was closer to ''$90 million''.[[/note]]
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14Before retiring in 2010, Nicholson was nominated for UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award}}s twelve times. He won three times -- twice for Best Actor for ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' and ''Film/AsGoodAsItGets'', and once for Best Supporting Actor for ''Film/TermsOfEndearment''. This number of wins ties him with Walter Brennan and Creator/DanielDayLewis for the most acting wins by a male actor, and puts him second to Creator/KatharineHepburn for most acting wins overall (she has four). He is also one of only two actors nominated for an Academy Award for acting (either lead or supporting) in every decade from the 1960s to the 2000s (the other being Creator/MichaelCaine).
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16Nicholson also won seven UsefulNotes/{{Golden Globe Award}}s, became one of the youngest actors to be awarded the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award in 1994 (at 56 years old), and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2001. In 2010, he was the [[LargeHam very enthusiastic]] honorary starter for the Indianapolis 500.
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18Also, because Nicholson is a ''massive'' [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation Los Angeles Lakers]] fan, attending every home game for many years, his shooting schedule had to revolve around the Lakers' schedule.
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20He was raised believing [[FamilyRelationshipSwitcheroo his mother was his sister and his grandmother was his mother]] because his birth mother [[ValuesDissonance was underage, unmarried, and Roman Catholic]]. Both were long dead when he found out--in a conversation with a reporter from ''Time'' magazine about ''Film/{{Chinatown}}''. The irony has been noted on several occasions. According to him, "My mother never saw the irony of calling me a son of a bitch."
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22He is the TropeNamer of TheGenieKnowsJackNicholson[[note]]The Genie in ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' imitates Nicholson when Aladdin tries to find the right things to say to Princess Jasmine[[/note]]. He is also noted for his striking resemblance to Creator/MichaelIronside and Creator/KelseyGrammer.
23
24-----
25!!Jack Nicholson has appeared in many films, including:
26* ''Film/TooSoonToLove'' (1960) as Buddy
27* ''Film/TheLittleShopOfHorrors'' (1960) as Wilbur Force
28* ''Film/{{The Raven|1963}}'' (1963) as Rexford Bedlo
29* ''Film/TheTerror'' (1963) as Lt. Duvalier
30* ''Film/TheShooting'' (1966) as Billy Spear
31* ''Film/HellsAngelsOnWheels'' (1967) as Poet
32* ''Film/PsychOut'' (1968) as Stoney
33* ''Film/{{Head}}'' (1968) as Movie Director in Restaurant (also co-wrote the script)
34* ''Film/EasyRider'' (1969) as George Hanson
35* ''Film/FiveEasyPieces'' (1970) as Robert Dupea
36--> "I want you to hold it between your knees."
37* ''Theatre/OnAClearDayYouCanSeeForever'' (1970) as Tad Pringle
38* ''Film/CarnalKnowledge'' (1971) as Jonathan Fuerst
39* ''Film/ASafePlace1971'' as Mitch
40* ''Film/TheKingOfMarvinGardens'' (1972) as David Staebler
41* ''Film/TheLastDetail'' (1973) as Signalman 1st Class Billy L. "Badass" Buddusky
42* ''Film/{{Chinatown}}'' (1974) as J.J. "Jake" Gittes
43* ''Music/{{Tommy}}'' (1975) as The Doctor
44* ''Film/TheFortune'' (1975) as Oscar
45* ''Film/ThePassenger1975'' (1975) as David Locke
46* ''Film/OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest'' (1975) as Randle P. [=McMurphy=]
47* ''Film/GoinSouth'' (1978) as Henry Lloyd Moon (also directed)
48* ''Film/TheShining'' (1980) as Jack Torrance
49--> "Heeeere's Johnny!"
50* ''Film/{{The Postman Always Rings Twice|1981}}'' (1981) as Frank Chambers
51* ''Film/{{Reds|1981}}'' (1981) as Creator/EugeneONeill
52* ''Film/TermsOfEndearment'' (1983) as Garrett Breedlove
53--> "I was just ''inches'' from a clean getaway."
54* ''Film/PrizzisHonor'' (1985) as Charley Partanna
55* ''Film/TheWitchesOfEastwick'' (1987) as Daryl Van Horne/[[spoiler:Satan]]
56* ''Film/BroadcastNews'' (1987) as Bill Rorish
57* ''Literature/{{Ironweed}}'' (1987) as Francis Phelan
58* ''Film/{{Batman|1989}}'' (1989) as [[Characters/BatmanFilmSeriesTheJoker Jack Napier]][=/=]ComicBook/TheJoker
59--> "Wait 'til they get a load of me."
60* ''Film/TheTwoJakes'' (1990) as J.J. "Jake" Gittes (also directed)
61* ''Film/AFewGoodMen'' (1992) as Col. Nathan R. Jessup
62--> "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!"
63* ''Film/{{Hoffa}}'' (1992) as UsefulNotes/JimmyHoffa
64* ''Film/WolfMikeNichols'' (1994) as Will Randall
65* ''Film/TheCrossingGuard'' (1995) as Freddy Gale
66* ''Film/MarsAttacks'' (1996) as President James Dale[=/=]Art Land
67* ''Film/BloodAndWine'' (1996) as Alex Gates
68* ''Film/AsGoodAsItGets'' (1997) as Melvin Udall
69--> "What if all of this...is (a TitleDrop)"
70* ''Literature/ThePledge'' (2001) as Jerry Black
71* ''Film/AboutSchmidt'' (2002) as Warren Schmidt
72* ''Film/SomethingsGottaGive'' (2003) as Harry Sanborn
73* ''Film/AngerManagement'' (2003) as Dr. Buddy Rydell
74* ''Film/TheDeparted'' (2006) as Frank Costello (based loosely on Whitey Bulger)
75* ''Film/TheBucketList'' (2007) as Edward Cole
76* ''Film/HowDoYouKnow'' (2010) as Charles (his last movie role to date)
77\
78He also co-wrote and directed, but did not act in, ''Film/DriveHeSaid'' (1971)
79
80----
81!!His works provide examples of the following tropes:
82
83* AdamWesting: While he can, of course, pull off serious acting, some of his roles slip into this -- a hammy, charismatic, half-crazed egomaniac.
84* BigOlEyebrows: His eyebrows are very expressive.
85* TheCharmer: His characters are extremely charismatic.
86* CheshireCatGrin: His signature grin.
87* ChewingTheScenery: Quite often. Take a look at his almost literal scenery-chewing rat impression in ''Film/TheDeparted''.
88* CoolOldGuy: His characters in his later films are almost invariably this as is the man himself.
89* CoolShades: Wears these very often in real life to the point that they've become a trademark.
90* DeadpanSnarker: He really knows how to sell one-liners and insults. His famously drawling voice really helps.
91* DoingItForTheArt: He not only accepted a minor role in ''Film/BroadcastNews'' for no money, but ''specifically'' requested that he not appear in the trailer, the opening credits, or any advertisements or promotions for the film because he did not want to take attention away from lead actors Creator/WilliamHurt, Creator/AlbertBrooks and Creator/HollyHunter.
92* EvilEyebrows: They were even a reason why Stephen King didn't want him in ''Film/TheShining'', feeling it gave away the surprise of Jack Torrance's descent into murderous insanity.
93* EvilSoundsDeep: Nicholson has a notably deep voice and it's lent itself many times to making the villains he played come across as more menacing.
94* FauxAffablyEvil: He'll keep his signature manic energy and even increase it for villains, most notably Joker and Jack Torrance.
95* {{Joisey}}: Where he was raised in Neptune Township, New Jersey and attended Manasquan High School.
96* KavorkaMan: In terms of physical appearance, Jack has never been much to look at, but his charm and charisma make it easy to see why his characters have no issue attracting beautiful women.
97* LargeHam: Very often. His performance as ComicBook/TheJoker is considered one of the greatest scene-stealers in film history.
98* MagnumOpusDissonance: Considers his best performance and the favourite of all his films to be Creator/MichelangeloAntonioni's ''The Passenger'' which is far less famous than his more notable films.
99* MisplacedAccent: Born in New Jersey, but his default voice (which he hardly ever alters for films) sounds a lot more Midwestern.
100* MoneyDearBoy: Why he played ComicBook/TheJoker in ''Film/Batman1989''. He got paid a percentage of the profits and a share of the merchandising. That said, he did name this as one of his favourite roles.
101* SlasherSmile: When playing a villain, his famous grin can be very sinister.
102* StarMakingRole: ''Film/EasyRider'' earned Jack his first Oscar nomination, and ''Film/FiveEasyPieces'' solidified him as a leading man, but his Oscar-winning role in ''Film/OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest'' assured his place in movie history.
103* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Shortly before his acting career took off, he tried to get hired at MGM's animation unit as a cleanup artist on ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry''. The unit closed less than a week after his job interview. MGM animators Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera then offered him an opportunity as an animator at their [[Creator/HannaBarbera upcoming studio]]. He declined the offer in order to pursue his acting dreams but remained good friends with the animation duo.

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