Jack Nicholson Celebrated 83rd Birthday: Remembering The Legendary Actor's Iconic Movie Roles

Apr 24, 2020 by apost team

Jack Nicholson, the award-winning actor known for his roles in The Shining, The Departed and Batman, celebrated his 83rd birthday on Wednesday.

Since his film debut in 1958, the 83-year-old American actor has made a name for himself in more than 30 movies as one of the most iconic motion-picture talents of his generation. To celebrate Nicholson’s achievements, we’ll look back on the actor’s most prominent roles.

Nicholson has come a long way since the late 1950s and early ‘60s when, according to Biography, he was starring in low-budget horror films like The Terror.

But despite the departure from those early B-movie flicks that followed after his breakout performance in the classic road film Easy Rider in 1969, it seems that Nicholson never really lost his taste for crime and horror flicks. Because, as Biography describes, Nicholson is ultimately known for his portrayal of “unconventional outsiders.”

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In what might be considered the greatest cinematic triumph of his career, Nicholson played a crazed hotel caretaker in Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film adaptation of Stephen King’s horror novel The Shining, according to Biography.

Even for those who haven’t seen the film, Nicholson’s haunting performance — especially his famous line, “Here’s Johnny!” — have indelibly marked the American cultural imagination. We'll never forget that line.

Jack Nicholson starred in another dark film, The Departed, back in 2006, which was similarly lauded by critics, according to Biography. A remake of the 2002 Hong Kong crime film Internal Affairs, Martin Scorsese’s The Departed is the story of an undercover police officer, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who infiltrates the Irish mob in Boston in what makes for a tense crime drama, according to The Guardian.

As for Nicholson, he plays the mob boss, Francis “Frank” Costello, in a classic Nicholson role. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian writes in his review that Nicholson’s performance in the film is one “no one else could possibly do,” adding that the actor’s on-screen “charisma has, through the decades, rolled over like a recurring lottery jackpot.” And that's high praise for an actor who had, at that point, already won his fair share of awards.

But let’s also not forget one of Nicholson’s stranger — and perhaps overlooked — roles as Joker in the 1989 version of Batman. During this period, Nicholson distanced himself from the understated roles that critics loved in favor of a more comedic approach to acting, according to Biography. While it’s not exactly a funny movie, that comedic turn is certainly apparent in Nicholson’s transformation into the Joker.

No doubt channeling the deranged spirit of his performance in The Shining, Nicholson’s Joker is frighteningly good with his menacing grin, white makeup and penchant for over-the-top delivery.

According to Biography, however, it seems like Nicholson may have entered retirement as of 2013, though the actor has not released any official statement. The 83-year-old’s most recent film was the romantic comedy How Do You Know, which came out in 2010.

But regardless of whether Nicholson is in retirement, with three Academy Awards to his name and a long star-studded career in Hollywood, movie buffs everywhere will remember him as one of the late 20th century’s premier acting talents.

Happy 83rd birthday, Jack Nicholson! What's you favorite Jack Nicholson movie and why? Let us know and make sure to pass this on to other Nicholson fans.