Jack Nicholson Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American actor and film-maker who has performed for over sixty years. He is known for playing a wide range of starring or supporting roles, including satirical comedy, romance, and dark portrayals of anti-heroes and villainous characters. In many of his films, he has played the "eternal outsider, the sardonic drifter", someone who rebels against the social structure. His most known and celebrated films include the road drama "Easy Rider" (1969); the dramas "Five Easy Pieces" (1970) and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1975); the comedy-dramas "The Last Detail"
Jack Nicholson that one of his favorite Nicholson scenes from all his films was in this one, when Nicholson slaps his gun on the bar yelling he "was" the Shore Patrol. Critic Roger Ebert called it a very good movie, but credited Nicholson's acting as the main reason: "He creates a character so complete and so complex that we stop thinking about the movie and just watch to see what he'll do next." In 1974, Nicholson starred in Roman Polanski's noir thriller, "Chinatown", and was again nominated for Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Jake Gittes, a private detective.