Jack Nicholson has no true rivals in Hollywood. Who, after all, could compete with his one-two punch of long-term success on-screen and indelible persona off-screen? Here Nicholson talks about the ease of identifying with the devil, the joy of wearing a mask and the pain of doing one line 147 times for Stanley Kubrick.
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If you consider only the best known of Jack Nicholson's movies, you have a compelling argument for his supremacy in acting, range and career judgment. Easy Rider ('69), Five Easy Pieces ('70), Carnal Knowledge ('71), The Last Detail ('73), Chinatown ('74), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest ('75), The Shining ('80), Terms of Endearment ('83), Prizzi's Honor ('85), The Witches of Eastwick ('87), Batman ('89), A Few Good Men ('92), As Good as It Gets ('97), About Schmidt ('02) and Something's Gotta Give ('03). If you add in his many remarkable performances in smaller films such as The King of Marvin Gardens ('72), or less successful films like Hoffa ('92), Nicholson's stature within his profession is evident not only in the three Oscars and countless other awards on his resume, but in the respectful warmth and humor with which they're typically given. Having bloomed a bit late--he'd done a decade of sketchy B-movies before he began his ascent with Easy Rider at age 32--he's enjoying the kind of longevity that's even rarer than stardom.
In the realm of off-screen existence, Nicholson holds a special place of affection for an entire generation that seems to feel he is able not only to act but to act out on their behalf. Despite having wholly avoided the TV talk and tabloid entertainment circuit over so many years, even while promoting his films, Nicholson the person is palpable to his audience--distinct but not unrelated to his screen indentity--flawed in character and mauled like the rest of us by time, lazy in some respects and uncompromising in attractive and unattractive ways, amused at being loved by the masses and not desperate about it, not looking to be an advertisement for anything.
Nicholson is about as approachable as icons get--he's sat courtside at L.A. Lakers games for decades with his friend Lou Adler, the record producer. "When Jack gets in his seat, there's a vibe around the arena that no other star excites," says Lakers owner Jerry Buss. "When I bought the team in 1979, we didn't have a show business acceptance. But Jack was a fan even before then and he contributed a lot to our initial success." Unlike most icons, he also lives right in the middle of Hollywood, affecting no artificial distance between what he does and who he "really" is. His power with the public is such that nothing he does offscreen--and a good deal of that is self-admitted self-indulgence--dims admiration or affection.
People are ultimately drawn to Nicholson's self-won freedom to be himself, and to the breathing space within that self. It's the kind of attraction that, unlike most aspects of stardom, actually increases with age.
CRAIG MODDERNO: As someone particularly noted for an ability to read scripts, have you I ever turned down a movie you believed would be a hit because you felt you weren't right for I the role?
JACK NICHOLSON: The Godfather. Back then I believed that Indians should play Indians and Italians should play Italians. Mario Puzo had written such a great book that if you go back to it you'll see so much of what was special about the movie. There were a lot of actors who could have played Michael, myself included, but Al Pacino was Michael Corleone. I can't think of a better compliment to pay him.
Q: What do you look for in a script?
A: I look to see if it has the potential to be a really interesting movie, and I look to see what could be improved. I also look at the size of the speeches. With rare exceptions, it's best to have shorter dialogue in films.
Q: The film you made with director Mike Nichols in 1971, Carnal Knowledge, had some notably long speeches. How did you handle those?
A: The screenwriter Jules Feiffer nailed the human condition in those speeches, so it wasn't hard--especially in the hands of a master director like Mike. The hardest thing about doing that film was playing a college kid the first half-hour and having to wear some uncomfortable wigs. For the most part--_Chinatown_ being an exception that comes to mind--I'm not a period piece kind of actor.
Q: You have a reputation for generously doing off-camera line readings opposite other actors even though a script person usually performs that part of the filmmaking process. Why do you bother doing that?
A: I love acting. I really do. To me that's the best way to be. I look at acting as a team effort where everyone's doing their best to try to make the team win. I don't want to sit in my trailer. I'm there to work and have fun. There's also the professional dynamic of it. It's good to disarm people by coming on the set with a non-star, let's-have-fun attitude.
Q: In director Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film The Shining, one of the scenes you were in was allegedly shot 147 times. Is that true?
A: Yeah. It was the scene where Barry Nelson took my character and his family on a tour of the hotel. Stanley had a lot of intricate camera work and tracking in that scene, and he obviously had a specific idea of what he wanted. You can't imagine what it was like on the second day of shooting this scene to start with a new slate and the assistant director shouting, "The Shining. Take 84!" Stanley was very precise and wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted. I only had one line in the scene, but I got it right 147 times!
Q: In 1981 you made Reds with your friend Warren Beatty, having already made The Fortune with him earlier. Any plans to work together again?
A: Not at present. Warren keeps his plans to himself until he's ready to act upon them.
Q: Then the following year you starred as a conflicted border guard for Tony Richardson in The Border, which recently debuted on DVD. The plight of illegal Mexican immigrants was nowhere near as well-known back then--what attracted you to the project?
A: A great director, and also the chance to play a lower-middle-class character struggling with his personal morality as it applies to what he faces daily in his work. The film was fairly well-received in its time, but definitely should be looked at now. When we were making it, I saw cab drivers risking their lives for an extra two dollars a day to drive or physically carry someone across the border. I understood almost the entire movie right there.
Q: Back in 1987, there was some outcry over The Witches of Eastwick, particularly the scene in the church where you go ballistic. What do you think made the movie a smash hit?
A: All the feathers in my hair must have made me likable [laughs]. When you have three friendly and funny costars like Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer and Susan Sarandon, you've got something for everyone. In traditional literature, the devil, which I portray in the film in modern times, actually never wins and is a very frustrated character. I spent time thinking, "What does my character want?", only to discover that all he wants is to get laid [laughs heartily]. This didn't require a lot of sense memory lessons, if you know what I mean.
Q: Do you think your acting went over-the-top in that film?
A: What's over-the-top for a frustrated Satan?
Q: How did you create your character of the Joker in Batman?
A: It was fun to play a character who would never think of apologizing for any of his behavior. I took the character more seriously than anyone else. As a child, Batman was my favorite character. To me back then, the cartoon was like Shakespeare blown up. While making the film, I loved working in a mask, like most actors, but they rarely get the chance to do it unless they're hanging around the house.
Q: You've directed three films over the years, the most recent being The Two Jakes, the sequel to Chinatown, in 1990. Any plans to get behind the camera again?
A: I just don't have the desire to at present. I enjoyed directing Drive, He Said, and would love to work with Bruce Dern again. Goin' South was a lot of fun to do and spawned several million-dollar actors. Two Jakes had its problems, but it was fun to get inside that character again.
Q: Were you surprised how much critical acclaim you got in 1992 for basically a handful of scenes in A Few Good Men?
A: People at that point had forgotten what a hardcore bastard I really am! [laughs] It was another example of a middle-class character operating under his own strict moral code. Tom [Cruise] was fun to play off of, because he had no ego as an actor in the sense of going outside his character to draw attention to him as a star.
Q: Many people regard your second film for Sean Penn, The Pledge, as underrated, but it was obviously not a film likely to please a large audience. Were you eager to work with him again?
A: I did want to work with Sean again after we did The Crossing Guard because he's very much an actor-oriented director. There's a moment where my character, who's still trying to find a missing child after he's left the police force, says, "I made a promise... You're old enough to remember when that meant something." How many films have a character and a plot come together with a few lines of dialogue like that? I had friends who didn't get the ending or disliked it, but I understood it and I like movies that don't tie up every plot point at the end, that leave the audience imagining the next scene, like in Five Easy Pieces.
Q: What attracted you to last year's Anger Management?
A: It captured some moods that I didn't understand. And I liked Adam Sandier. I found a normal consistency in him that I thought I could play off of well. Adam kind of takes things more seriously than me and is into goon humor. I like antic comedy. I've always wanted to do a [Dean] Martin and [Jerry] Lewis film or a [Bob] Hope and [Bing] Crosby picture, and I thought this was as close as I was going to get.
Q: What attracted you to Something's Gotta Give? Did the chance to work with Diane Keaton so many years after doing Reds together have anything to do with it?
A: I liked the script. It's rare when you get a romantic script for someone my age. And Diane is a good friend and I've always wanted to work with her again. When we made the movie it had no title and for some unknown reason I kept forgetting the new titles, so I just finally called it The Diane Keaton Movie since she was so terrific in it.
Q: You recently attended a film festival in Las Vegas where Dennis Hopper gave you an award. Do awards still mean anything to you?
A: I did that more for Dennis. nowadays, they almost seem like TV fundraisers. Meryl Streep warns about falling victim to tribute-itis, which is easy to do, because you don't want to turn down people nice enough to give you a trophy and a meal. But the Academy Awards are still the big honors and I suspect always will be.
Q: At the recent AFI tribute to Meryl Streep, people seemed to be surprised by a few of your off-color comments.
A: Well, sometimes Jack can be a bad boy. I was going to be in Detroit that night and changed my plans at the last minute because Meryl and I are such old friends. There were people doing a lot of crazy stuff that night--like Jim Carrey doing me, and different clips being shown than what we were told would be used. I thought people responded nicely to me. Meryl, who has a wicked sense of humor, thought I was funny.
Q: If you were to take a pay cut... [Nicholson interrupts with a Joker-like laugh.]
A: I can't wait to see where this is going!
Q: ...would you want to coach the Los Angeles Lakers?
A: No, because I know the players too well and I'm friends with some of them. I wouldn't want to be the one to go behind closed doors and yell at them. To me, watching pro basketball is entertainment that truly relaxes me. I could be an assistant head coach. There's more of them around so they don't seem to get fired much [chuckles]. And they always seem to find time to talk to guys like me when I want some inside NBA stuff.
Q: You took up golf late in life. Why?
A: It gets me out of the house. I'm lazy and golf is a good rest outdoors, but it's often very frustrating. No killer smile can seduce a golf ball. George Carlin, who's an extremely funny man, says that watching golf on TV is as exciting as watching flies fuck. Maybe that's another reason I don't watch much television.
Q: What are your thoughts on women today?
A: They're smarter, stronger and they don't play the games that men do. I think Billy Wilder once said that the perfect woman is one who, after you have sex with her, turns into a card table surrounded by five of your best friends. I've always believed that when a writer has a great line like that then you salute them and let them have your final word!
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