Jack Nicholson

And even less to the Hollywood Academy, which has given him three Oscars and has nominated him no more and no less than twelve times, more than any other actor in history. The reason for such enthusiasm is simple: Mr. Nicholson is doing better and better. Movie by movie, he climbs one more step in his acting quality, and the ladder seems to have no end.

Born on April 22, 1937 in Neptune (New Jersey), John Josephson Nicholson (let’s clarify that “Jack” is more or less equivalent to “Juanito” in Anglo-Saxon slang) grew up as a taciturn and lonely boy, probably due to a family environment not very desirable. His alcoholic father abandoned his children very early, and Jack grew up thinking that his mother was his older sister and his grandmother was his mother. In short, a sad mess that undoubtedly had to do with the forging of his character. At seventeen, after completing his primary studies in his native New Jersey, he moved to Hollywood determined to be an actor, and made his way as an assistant in the drawing department of Metro Goldwyn Meyer.

Later, while studying drama at the Players Ring Theatre, she met director and producer Roger Corman . It was a happy meeting, because the famous king of series B got him his first movie role with The Cry Baby Killer (1958). And then, throughout the 1960s, the two teamed up with notable results: Little Shop of Horrors (1960),The Raven (1963),The Terror (1963),The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (1967). Later, Nicholson’s career, already somewhat pigeonholed in horror movies, took a big turn withEasy Rider (1969), debut film behind the scenes of Dennis Hopper . With that work, Nicholson achieved his first Oscar nomination, recognition that he would later repeat withMy life is my life (1970) andlast duty (1973).

However, we can say that the Nicholson we know, the intense and outrageous Jack, did not arrive until his incarnation of detective JJ Gittes inChinatown (1974), a tall film noir made by Roman Polanski . But despite his new nomination, the Oscar didn’t come until the following year, thanks to one of the most disturbing roles an actor has played: McMurphy’sSome one flies over the cuco’s nidus .

With that character, Nicholson made gold and to date he has not stopped exploiting eccentricity and excess with guys who sit on the narrow margin between sanity and madness, if not downright crazy, like writer Jack Torrance fromThe Shining (1980), one of the most successful horror films of the genre. Later, after two splendid appearances the following year in the mythologizedThe Postman Always Rings Twice (1981) , by Bob Rafelson , andReds , by Warren Beatty , won his second Oscar (this time as a supporting actor) with the tearful and excellentThe Strength of Endearment (1983), by James L. Brooks . Fourteen years later it would be the same director who would give him the opportunity to win his third Oscar, with the priceless role of the neurotic protagonist of Better…impossible , one of his most praised works. But over the years before, his flirtations with insanity had already become flesh of the flesh of him with the malevolent millionaire ofThe Witches of Eastwick (1987), The Batman Joker(1989), Colonel Nathan Jessep’sSome good men (1992) or the lycanthrope ofLobo (1994), not to mention the weird types ofCrossing the Dark (1995),Blood and wine (1996), and the most recentThe oath (2001), second job directed by his friend Sean Penn , the excellentAbout Schmidt (2002), twelfth Oscar nomination included, or the funnyaggressive executive (2003).

With so many “weird” movies, one tends to believe that the real Nicholson has some of his characters in his blood. And it is true that he is a perfectionist and somewhat maniacal man, whose integration with his roles is of such intensity that it makes it impossible to imagine him leading an ordinary life. His sentimental journey has also been somewhat crazy, with several relationships and three paternities over the years.

What hasn’t changed is his fanaticism for basketball and his unconditional love for the Los Angeles Lakers. Anyway, we’ll see how he spends it on his latest work yet to be released, Something’s Gotta Give , where he will be accompanied by Diane Keaton , Frances McDormand and Keanu Reeves , among others. It sure nails it.