Jack Nicholson
Biography
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is a retired American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark-themed portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for Academy Awards 12 times, winning Best Actor for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and for As Good as It Gets, and Best Supporting Actor for Terms of Endearment. He is tied with Walter Brennan for most acting wins by a male actor (three), and second to Katharine Hepburn for most acting wins overall (four). He is also one of only two actors nominated for an Academy Award for acting (either lead or supporting) in every decade from the 1960s to 2000s (the other one being Michael Caine). He has won seven Golden Globe Awards, and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2001. In 1994, he became one of the youngest actors to be awarded the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award. Notable films in which he has starred include, Easy Rider, Chinatown, The Shining, Reds, Batman, A Few Good Men, About Schmidt, Something's Gotta Give, and The Departed.
Known For
Saturday Night Live
1975
Saturday Night Live
1975
The Andy Griffith Show
1960
The Andy Griffith Show
1960
Golden Globe Awards
1944
Golden Globe Awards
1944
Golden Globe Awards
1944
Matinee Theater
1955
Film '72
1971
The Shining
1980
Hawaiian Eye
1959
The Departed
2006
Filmography
Saturday Night Live
as Self · 1975
Saturday Night Live
as Self (uncredited) · 1975
The Andy Griffith Show
as Mr. Garland · 1960
The Andy Griffith Show
as Marvin Jenkins · 1960
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Cecil B. DeMille Award Recipient · 1944
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Nominee / Presenter · 1944
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Nominee · 1944
Matinee Theater
as Musician's Son · 1955
Film '72
as Self · 1971
The Shining
as Jack Torrance · 1980
Hawaiian Eye
as Tony Morgan · 1959
The Departed
as Costello · 2006
Sea Hunt
as John Stark · 1958
Bronco
as Bob Doolin · 1958
Goldene Kamera
as Self · 1984
The Oscars
as Self · 1953
Basketball: A Love Story
as Self (archive footage) · 2018
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
as Randle Patrick McMurphy · 1975
The Barbara Stanwyck Show
as Bud · 1960
The Guns of Will Sonnett
as Tom Murdock · 1967
A Few Good Men
as Col. Nathan R. Jessep · 1992
The Kennedy Center Honors
as Self · 1978
Batman
as Joker / Jack Napier · 1989
Nudes in the News
as Warren Schmidt (archive footage) · 2002
Ciné regards
as Self · 1978
Not Necessarily the News
as Self (archive footage) · 1983
The Bucket List
as Edward Periman Cole · 2007
Mars Attacks!
as President Dale / Art Land · 1996
Mr. Lucky
as Martin · 1959
Anger Management
as Dr. Buddy Rydell · 2003
As Good as It Gets
as Melvin Udall · 1997
Chinatown
as J.J. 'Jake' Gittes · 1974
John Candy: I Like Me
as Self - Actor (archive footage) · 2025
Something's Gotta Give
as Harry Sanborn · 2003
Easy Rider
as George Hanson · 1969
Terms of Endearment
as Garrett Breedlove · 1983
How Do You Know
as Charles · 2010
The Witches of Eastwick
as Daryl Van Horne · 1987
The Pledge
as Jerry Black · 2001
I'm Still Here
as Jack Nicholson · 2010
Carnal Knowledge
as Jonathan · 1971
Broadcast News
as Bill Rorich · 1987
Tim Burton: Life in the Line
as Self (footage) · 2025
Wolf
as Will Randall · 1994
Kubrick by Kubrick
as Self (archive footage) · 2020
About Schmidt
as Warren Schmidt · 2002
The Crossing Guard
as Freddy Gale · 1995
Prizzi's Honor
as Charley Partanna · 1985
The Postman Always Rings Twice
as Frank Chambers · 1981
Five Easy Pieces
as Robert Eroica Dupea · 1970
The Two Jakes
as J.J. "Jake" Gittes · 1990
The Raven
as Rexford Bedlo · 1963
The Missouri Breaks
as Tom Logan · 1976
The Passenger
as David Locke · 1975
Blood and Wine
as Alex · 1996
The Last Tycoon
as Brimmer · 1976
The Last Detail
as Billy L. 'Badass' Buddusky · 1973
Goin' South
as Henry Moon · 1978
Reds
as Eugene O'Neill · 1981
The Little Shop of Horrors
as Wilbur Force · 1960
The Terror
as Lt. Andre Duvalier · 1963
Hoffa
as James R. 'Jimmy' Hoffa · 1992
Stanley Kubrick - Ein Leben für den Film
as Self · 2001
Heartburn
as Mark · 1986
Tommy
as The Specialist · 1975
SNL50: The Homecoming Concert
as Self · 2025
Man Trouble
as Harry Bliss · 1992
Untold: Deal with the Devil
as Self (archive footage) · 2021
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre
as Gino, Hit Man (uncredited) · 1967
Clint Eastwood: The Last Legend
as Self (archive footage) · 2022
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
as Tad Pringle · 1970
Targets
as Lt. Andre Duvalier (archive footage) (uncredited) · 1968
Ironweed
as Francis Phelan · 1987
Ride in the Whirlwind
as Wes · 1966
Breakdown: 1975
as Self (The Passenger-archive footage) · 2025
Junket Whore
as Self · 1998
The Shooting
as Billy Spear · 1966
Joker: Put on a Happy Face
as Self · 2020
The Border
as Charlie Smith · 1982
Corman's World
as Self - Actor · 2011
The King of Marvin Gardens
as David Staebler · 1972
Monty and the Movies
as Self (archive footage)
The Evening Star
as Garrett Breedlove · 1996
Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror
as Self (archive photo) · 2025
Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir
as Self (archive footage) · 2012
Live Aid
as Self · 1985
Hells Angels on Wheels
as Poet · 1967
Barbra Streisand: One Voice
as Self - Audience Member (uncredited) · 1986
The Fortune
as Oscar 'Dix' Sullivan · 1975
America | A Tribute to Heroes
as Self · 2001
40 Years of Rocky: The Birth of a Classic
as Self (archive footage) · 2020
The Movie Orgy
as Self (archive footage) · 1968
Psych-Out
as Stoney · 1968
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
as Self / Jake Gittes (archive footage) · 2008
Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast
as Self - Presenter · 2005
Head
as Self (uncredited) · 1968
Shirley Maclaine: Kicking Up Her Heels
as Self (archive footage) · 1996
Cry Baby Killer
as Jimmy Wallace · 1958
I Am Divine
as Self (archive) · 2014
Playboy: Playmate Pajama Party
· 1999
Completely Cuckoo
· 1997
Little Amy
as Jefferson City Coach · 1962
Making 'The Shining'
as Self · 1980
Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight
as Self · 2008
Paul McCartney: Back in the U.S.
as Self · 2002
Ensign Pulver
as Yeoman Dolan · 1964
Films to Die For
as (archive footage) (uncredited) · 2025
Jack Nicholson - The Devilish Smile of Hollywood
as Self · 2017
Mansfield 66/67
as Self - Actor(archive footage) · 2017
Morceaux de Cannes
as Self (archive footage) · 2021
BBStory: An American Film Renaissance
as Self · 2010
Too Soon to Love
as Buddy · 1960
Notes on an American Film Director at Work
as Self · 2008
The Rolling Stones: Stripped
as Self · 1995
Jack Nicholson: The Joker Is Wild
as Self (archive footage) · 2004
Back Door to Hell
as Burnett · 1964
The Visions of Stanley Kubrick
as Self · 2007
The Rolling Stones: Totally Stripped
as Self · 1995
Close Up
as Self (archive footage) · 2012
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood
as Self · 2003
Drive, He Said
as Annoyed Bearded Guy · 1971
The Rolling Stones: From the Vault - Sticky Fingers Live at the Fonda Theatre 2015
as Self - Audience Member · 2017
View from the Overlook: Crafting 'The Shining'
as Self · 2007
Lost Kubrick: The Unfinished Films of Stanley Kubrick
as Self · 2007
TVTV Looks at the Oscars
as Self · 1976
America Lost and Found: The BBS Story
as Self · 2010
Drive, He Said: A Cautionary Tale of Campus Revolution and Sexual Freedom
as Self · 2010
Walt Whitman: Poet for a New Age
as Narrator · 1971
Stardust
as Self (uncredited) · 2010
Shine On: The Forgotten Shining Location
as Self (archive footage) · 2024
Little Amy
as Jefferson City Coach · 1962
Mulholland Drive - Ein Hollywood-Mythos
as Self · 2010
A Safe Place
as Mitch · 1971
On the tracks of a filmmaker
as Jack Nicholson · 1988
The Wild Ride
as Johnny Varron · 1960
The Broken Land
as Will · 1962
Yoko Ono: This Is Not Here
as Self · 1972
Rebel Rousers
as Bunny · 1970
The Hour of St. Francis
as Jim Evans · 1962
Rob Reiner Interviews the Stars: Jack Nicholson
as Self · 2008
Studs Lonigan
as Weary Reilly · 1960
Witness to 'Reds'
as Self · 2006
Jack of Three Trades: In Focus on Nicholson the Director
as Self (archive footage) · 2024
Making of Chinatown
· 2007
Velocity
as Johnny Varron (young) (archive footage) · 1999
Flight to Fury
as Jay Wickham · 1964
The Elephant's Child
as Narrator (voice) · 1986
Playmate Pajama Party
as self · 1999
Creepy Classics
as Rexford Bedlo - (archive footage) · 1987
Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories
as Narrator (voice) · 1987
Rabbit Ears - How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin/How the Camel Got His Hump
as Narrator (voice) · 1987
Soul Searching in 'Five Easy Pieces'
as Self · 2010
Celebrities Uncensored
as Self · 2003