“I don’t think I’m boxed in to play anything or any kind of person. That’s the one professional trick I’ve done. That makes it possible for really good directors to use you in a lot of different ways.” — Jack Nicholson
Source: Jack Garner (1998)
Photo: Chinatown (1974)
“I started in ’57. I had no connections. The odds against me making it were astronomical. I was office boy in the cartoon department and I drifted. Somebody asked me if I wanted to be an actor and I said, ‘Yeah, yeah, pretty girls! My first one was ‘Crybaby Killer.'” — Jack Nicholson
“I remember that someone once said that the whole thing is to keep working, and pretty soon they’ll think you’re good.” — Jack Nicholson
Source: 1973
Psych-Out (1968)
“I was drifting out of acting. I had already had a commitment to direct Drive, He Said. I had just written The Trip and I was working on another script for Rob Rafelson. I was becoming more interested in the filmmaking process as a whole. It wasn’t that I didn’t have a good reputation as an actor or that I was totally unknown. A lot of people knew of me but when you’re casting and looking for somebody’s who’s going to make a lot of money for you, it looked as though, ‘Well, he’s had some chances here and nothing’s broken to the public.’ “ — Jack Nicholson
Source: Jack Mathews (1980)
Photo: Head (1968), With Davy Jones and Bob Rafelson.
“This mythical thing about the overnight success doesn’t exist. I’d been to Cannes before, hustling my own movies. I’d been making films for 11 years, so I knew the audience. And I knew the film well. I sat in the audience, and my character came on the screen and the film exploded, and because I’d been doing it for so long, from so many angles, I could sit in that movie seat and say, ‘I’m a movie star.’ I had the good fortune to know then what that meant.” — Jack Nicholson
Source: Jack Garner (1998)
Photo: Easy Rider (1969). With Peter Fonda.
“No matter who you play, there’s about 10% of the character in your performance and about 90% of you.” — Jack Nicholson
Source: Dan Knapp (1971)
“I never want to be a household word. It shortens your career. I’m interested in longevity. People don’t realize how short careers are….Listen, I’ve been jealous of some of these house-hold actors. I’ve had careers longer than theirs and I’m standing in line with everybody else and they’re out in front. But I feel they’ll have short careers. I don’t do TV talk shows. I think they’re the worst thing for your career. A lot more people are ruined than are made by TV talk shows.” — Jack Nicholson
“I’ve lived out the myth of the 1950s. I’ve had all the girls, taken all the drugs, gone everywhere. I’m looking for something valid.” — Jack Nicholson
Source: 1973
Photo: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
“My motto is: more good times.” — Jack Nicholson
Photographer: Willy Rizzo
“I have always worked with good directors whenever I had any choice in the matter. Working with good directors usually means everyone else involved is good and that you’re going to be good, too. If it isn’t too immodest of me to say so, I think my best work over the past few years has been consistent and that’s because I’ve worked with good directors.” — Jack Nicholson
Source: Jack Mathews (1980)
The Shining (1980)
“I’m nocturnal. That’s why I like Batman. That’s why I like basketball. Night comics and night games.” — Jack Nicholson
Source: Ann Trebbe (1990)
Photo: Batman (1989)
“I feel very blessed by acting. I like the glamour. I like living up. I like things to be good.” — Jack Nicholson
Source: Jack Garner (1998)
As Good as It Gets (1998)
