As one of the most important actors of the New Hollywood movement, Jack Nicholson played some of the most memorable characters of the past 50 years. He has brought nuance, dry humor, and an exhilarating unpredictability to each of his roles. Nicholson’s iconic antagonists, such as Jack Torrance and the Joker, loom large in our collective memory, and his leading characters are filled with inner conflict and complex morality. 20 of Jack Nicholson’s greatest roles are listed below.
The Terror (1963)
This gothic horror film, which also stars Universal legend Boris Karloff, marks one of Nicholson’s first lead performances. Nicholson began his career working with Roger Corman and his associates on B-movies and exploitation films in 1963.
This Edgar Allan Poe-based film is fascinating to watch because Nicholson still demonstrates undeniable, unrefined star power as a lost French soldier who is seduced by a shapeshifting woman, despite clearly improving his craft over time. His line delivery has a lively earnestness to it, and his commanding physical acting makes him look right at home in the moody period setting of the film.
Five Easy Pieces (1970)
A blue-collar worker returns home to visit his ailing father for the first time in three years in Bob Rafelson’s 1970 road drama Five Easy Pieces. In the movie’s opening scenes, Nicholson’s wild energy and over-the-top rural drawl seem a little forced and unconvincing, but his stilted persona turns out to be a good fit for the character: he comes from a wealthy family and rebels against his privilege, adopting a new rough-and-tumble persona that never quite fits.
He is naive, egotistical, and performatively erratic: Nicholson impersonates a Las Vegas, city with the best online slots bonus, musical revue in one of the film’s many standout scenes, going into a Robin Williams-Esque comedic mania and rattling off silly voices and quick gestures. His peaceful, mournful breakdown at the peak shows an uncommon weakness that feels rawer because of the shortage of it in his filmography.
The King of Marvin Gardens (1972)
Bob Rafelson’s offbeat drama The King of Marvin Gardens (1972) depends on Nicholson’s ability to deliver a compelling monologue, which he does multiple times, including in the opening scene. He plays a depressed Philadelphia radio host who reunites in Atlantic City with Bruce Dern, his con artist brother.
When contrasted with the carelessness of the other characters, Nicholson’s character’s intensity is comically exaggerated. However, his self-seriousness is also tragic, as his unwavering drive prevents him from finding a way to express his creative vision or reach the audience he believes he deserves. He laments the demise of reading and resents the radio as his only option. It is a complicated performance that is both funny and depressing at the same time.
Chinatown (1974)
As Jake Gittes in Chinatown (1974), Nicholson is an ideal lead for a New Hollywood noir. He plays a smooth operator with a calm, casual confidence that is ideal for a private investigator who needs to get into places he shouldn’t. He appears unperturbed by every scandal that comes across his desk at first, detached and dry.
But once his reputation is tied to a tricky case that draws attention from the public, he becomes personally invested in finding a citywide conspiracy that reveals dark secrets about Los Angeles and its powerful leaders. By the time Roman Polanski’s Chinatown reaches its gloomy conclusion, Nicholson appears frozen in shock and shaken to the core—a far cry from his initial disengagement—and his quest to reveal their crimes makes him appear desperate and bitter.
The Passenger (1975)
Nicholson’s ability to carry a film visually rather than verbally is demonstrated in Michelangelo Antonioni’s drama The Passenger, which was released in 1975. The Passenger’s most important scenes, which show Nicholson’s character wandering through stunning North African and European scenery, are almost entirely silent. His facial expressions and body language convey a sense of weariness and frustration, which helps explain why his character would want to switch identities with a dead man to escape his previous life.
In addition, in scenes in which he plays a different character, Nicholson skillfully strikes a balance between self-assurance and ignorance: He is convincing enough that the other characters won’t know what he is up to, but he’s still a little shaky, so there’s humor and drama as the audience worries about his composure.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
In Milo Forman’s Best Picture Oscar-winning One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Nicholson portrays R.P. McMurphy, a rabble-rouser whose own antics provide him with endless entertainment. He is the one who causes the chaos and sets the pace for the entire film.
McMurphy plays both the class clown who takes nothing seriously and the moral leader of the hospital patients, slyly encouraging them to stand up for themselves and seek independence. This makes the performance fascinating. Nicholson makes it clear, with little gestures and shifts in voice, that McMurphy really cares about his companions beneath his wry demeanor.
The Shining (1980)
Stanley Kubrick casts Jack Torrance as a father and husband unraveling at the intersection of cabin fever and writer’s block as he serves as caretaker of the haunted Overlook Hotel in this classic 1980 adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shining. He starts the movie as a pretty normal guy, but as the hotel takes over his mind, he becomes afraid, disdainful, and eventually mad.
Because Kubrick withholds an explicit breaking point for the character, the film’s mysterious atmosphere benefits. Jack’s motivation for violence is never entirely clear. However, Jack’s final outbursts directed at his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd) are made all the more terrifying by Nicholson’s performance. He is a menacing force of chaotic evil whose every move and shout feels unpredictably unpredictable. Never before has his devilish smile been more unsettling.
Batman (1989)
For his performance as the Joker in Tim Burton’s 1989 comic book extravaganza Batman, the actor received one of the biggest paychecks in movie history. Nicholson is the real star of the show, even though Michael Keaton plays the Caped Crusader. He gets the same amount of screen time as the main character and gives a much more zany performance.
Nicholson dances to Prince, vandalizes a museum, and attacks his foes with maniacal glee in his role as the Clown Prince of Crime, and he does all of this with a pep in his step. He appears overjoyed by his criminal enterprise and adores rebellion’s chaos.
The Departed (2006)
Considering how effortlessly he blends into the director’s style, storyline, and stellar ensemble cast in The Departed, it is a wonder that Nicholson had not collaborated with Scorsese earlier in his career. Nicholson gets a lot of opportunities to do what he does best by casting the Oscar winner as a Boston mob boss.
He creates a funny, charismatic character in Frank Costello who is also a monster who frightens everyone he meets. He is cruel and unpredictable, but even his enemies respect him for his self-assurance and bravery.