Jack Nicholson is an iconic American actor, renowned worldwide for his portrayal of several neurotic characters. He attended Manasquan High School where he was voted class clown by the Class of 1954. His first stint in Hollywood was as a gofer for animation legends Hanna-Barbera. He was offered a position as an artist, but he declined, deciding to become an actor.
Jack Nicholson worked for and with Roger Corman. Nicholson had his screen debut in 1958’s The Cry Baby Killer, playing a juvenile delinquent. This was followed in 1960 with a small role in The Little Shop of Horrors. He continued with two more Roger Corman films, The Raven and The Terror, both in 1963. Nicholson began writing more often, due to a decrease in acting jobs during the '60s. This resulted in Thunder Island, Flight to Fury, Ride in the Whirlwind and Head, starring The Monkees. He also made appearances in television shows, one of them being The Andy Griffith Show in 1966-1967. His first success as a writer came with the LSD-fueled screenplay The Trip, starring Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper. Nicholson’s big acting break came when he played lawyer George Hanson in Easy Rider, earning him his first Oscar nomination.
In 1970, he appeared in Five Easy Pieces and in the movie adaptation of On A Clear Day You Can See Forever. He was also in Hal Ashby’s The Last Detail, as well as in the thriller Chinatown. He was awarded the Best Actor Oscar for portraying Randy P. McMurphy in the movie adaptation of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. This was followed by more unusual roles, including a small one opposite Robert de Niro in The Last Tycoon. He was awarded the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Terms of Endearment in 1983. In 1989, his portrayal of the Joker became a smash hit in the Batman movie. He was then cast in 1991’s A Few Good Men, where he received another Academy nomination. In 1997, he played Melvin Udal in As Good As It Gets, earning him his next Academy Award for Best Actor.
Jack Nicholson also had the lead role in 2002’s About Schmidt and in the comedy Anger Management with Adam Sandler. He was also with Diane Keaton in Something’s Gotta Give and played sadistic Frank Costello in Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning film The Departed.