Category: Actors

In a career that has aged like a fine wine since the mid-50s, one universal conclusion can be made about the acting talents of Jack Nicholson: he’s at his best as the bad guy. With the one notable exception of his deranged yet life-loving mental patient McMurphy (for which he won Best Actor) being victimized at the hands of the cruel Nurse Ratchet, almost every other major role in Nicholson’s career has been as a baddie; a craft he has molded to perfection over time.

This road to villainy began back in 1980, when he was cast as the twisted Jack Torrance in Stanley Kubrick’s novel-to-film adaptation of The Shining. Considered by many to be the most threatening and genuinely frightening performance of all-time, Jack’s grinning face peering through the broken door has become one of the most instantly discernible images of all-time, and his contribution was the driving force behind The Shining reaching the pinnacle of critical acclaim.

His portrayal of The Joker in Tim Burton’s Batman almost a decade later was equally groundbreaking, and set the foundation for one Heath Ledger to make the role his own many years later.

After trying his hand at comedy and being aptly rewarded with another Oscar and a separate nomination (for As Good As It Gets and About Schmidt respectively), he returned to the dark side as Frank Costello in the Scorsese crime thriller The Departed. His flexibility between genres and dedication to his work have made him an influential figure in Hollywood, and one of the most respected actors in the business today.

Author Bio: Johnny Hollywood

One day, a good friend started calling me Hollywood because of my never-ending desire to talk about films, and the nickname stuck like glue. There’s only one thing I love more than reviewing movies, and that’s discussing them with everybody and anybody, so never hesitate to tell me what you think about my work.