His alienated gaze is in itself a symbol of cinematic madness. He created an entire school, a mold that generations and generations of actors stepped on, never reaching the original. It is characteristic that his look was his charisma, his fortune that he tried not to scatter unnecessarily – maybe that is why he hid it behind the black glasses, a trademark of the actor. Jack Nicholson, one of the greatest actors of his time, by many the most important, has managed to acrobatic on the human frontier with his unique intelligent acting talent, causing earthquakes of emotion, attracting the audience when he shows it. It is no coincidence that most of his great roles are anti-heroic, on the opposite side of the “American dream”, of security, of the conventional star. After all, his anti-conformist character did not match all this, although he had no problem with stariliki.
Jack Nicholson was a lucky actor, as in his first steps in cinema he learned next to to the famous “Pope” of b’movies Roger Cormanplayed the iconic role of the drunken lawyer George Hanson in Dennis Hopper’s cult film The Carefree Horseman, and within five years had met characters who will remain indelible in the memory of all cinephiles, with, of course, the masterpieces in Chinatown films. “and” In the Cuckoo’s Nest “, with which he won his first Oscar for Best Actor.
In a few days, Nicholson will blow out 85 candles (he was born on April 22, 1937), probably always next to beautiful women, whom he adored, conquering fewer than only Warren Beatty, maybe some of them (five, six or nine?) his children, but he will also give an account of his fictional life and his long career in cinema, from which he has moved away in recent years. Seeing all these blockbusters, the “lifeless blogs”, the paper superhero movies, he states categorically that “I will never make movies like this”.
Family mysteries
Jack Nicholson was born in New York in 1937, the son of John Francis Nicholson, an unstable sugar girl, and an unknown father, whom he still does not know. According to his biographer, Mark Eliot, his real father was a musician named Donald Fursillo, something that is not confirmed, while his family was so complicated that when he grew up he discovered that the woman he thought was his sister was in fact his mother and the woman he thought of as his mother was his grandmother!
He grew up with Roman Catholic authorities and believed – to be precise in choosing – that he was of Irish descent. In high school he was known as the “clown” of the class, while in 1957, in a move to escape from the quagmire in which he had fallen, he joined the California National Air Guard.
Carefree Rider
In the 50’s he will be in California, where he visited his sister. There he will get a job as a MGM animated film clerk. He then went on to star in TV series, until it was time to meet Roger Corman, with whom he collaborated for nearly ten years, and on several films, including the most famous “The Horror Shop” (1960), which he shot. in record time.
In 1969 he will be given the characteristic role in “The Carefree Horseman” by chance, after Rip Thorne, who had been chosen by Dennis Hopper, left the shooting after a quarrel with the latter. The film premiered in Cannes in May 1969 and the unknown “Nick” became the most promising actor of the year within a few hours, while the critics talked about the next big star. This will be followed by the excellent films “Five Easy Pieces” by Bob Rafelson and “The Acquaintance of the Flesh” by Mike Nichols, with Ann Margaret, next year. Nicholson is now the protagonist.
In the Oscar nest
But that’s not enough for the genius Jack. In 1974 he will be given the leading iconic role of a detective in Polanski’s classic masterpiece “Chinatown”, an epitome of how the “American Dream” was conquered through widespread corruption, crime and perversion. With the great Faye Dunaway by his side, Robert Downey’s shocking penetrating screenplay in front of him and great craftsmen behind the camera, Nicholson will stand out and be nominated for an Oscar.
However, he will win the Oscar next year with the shocking drama of Milos Forman “In the Cuckoo’s Nest”, impersonating a revolutionary psychiatric hospital food. An interpretation that will forever be engraved in the memory of all cinephiles, as of course the messages of the masterpiece film, for the pharmaceutical, psychiatric and not only repression. Nicholson is now a star, very different from the usual, whose penetrating gaze will conquer not only the audience around the world, but also the female gender. His countless love affairs, often with famous actors, crazy parties, alcohol, hanging out with “sinful” boys like Warren Beatty and Marlon Brando, even his madness with the Lakers or his street fights of Los Angeles, will make him a legend even though he is not even fifteen years old at the spectacle.
Shine
In 1975 he will bring it to European cinema. He will star in Michelangelo Antonioni’s wonderful drama “Reporter Profession”, satisfying even the demanding cinematic circuit of the old continent. In the same year he will co-star in the western “Fugitives of Missouri” by Arthur Penn and next to Marlon Brando, who without realizing it is obvious that he is already in the shadow of Nicholson.
Another crucial meeting for Nicholson will be with Stanley Kubrick. It’s the time of “The Flash” (1980), in which Jack Nicholson with his interpretation will cause a shiver, while before he even realizes the paranoia, just writing on a typewriter, he will offer explosions of terror. It is obvious that besides Kubrick there is also Nicholson who can take the director’s thoughts on his shoulders and make something of his own, a character that will haunt us forever.
Next year he will play a role in Warren Beatty’s epic political drama “The Reds”. According to the famous female conqueror Beatty, Nicholson took the role of Eugene O’Neill, because he was the only actor who would convince the public that a woman could “steal” him. In 1983, he starred in James Brooks’ super-dramatic comedy “Affectionate Relationships” opposite Searley McLain and Debra Winger, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
The not in monumental roles
Jack Nicholson, the 13th Academy Award nominee, the many awards and the huge public acceptance, will go down in history as the actor who turned down most of the roles that made history, taking careers to the next level. The eccentric, unpredictable star said no to roles like Michael Corleone played by Pacino in “The Godfather”, Johnny Hooker played by Redford in “The Center”, and Captain Benjamin played by “Martin Apocalypse” Hannibal Lecter who starred Anthony Hopkins!
Nevertheless, during the remaining 25 years of his career in cinema, Jack Nicholson starred in several good films, performing exceptionally well. Some of the most notable ones are John Houston’s “The Price of Pritzie”, Hector Babenko’s “Strangers in the Same City”, George Miller’s “The Witches of Eastwick”, Tim Burton’s “Batman” as the Joker and with the record’s 80 million, James Brooks’s “Better Not Done” and the third Oscar for Nicholson and Martin Scorsese’s “The Informant”.
85-year-old Jack Nicholson is now described as a retired actor, although some believe or want to hope that at some point he will return to the big screen. He seems disappointed with the course of the profession and the cinema in America, as for many years he has stated that “it is really difficult to be free when you are sold and bought in the market”. It may seem paradoxical, maybe even symbolic for American cinema, but the era probably does not fit actors like Jack Nicholson …
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