Jack Nicholson

[Guest Stranger]

Through the years upon decades upon centuries of theatre, one would have to wonder if there's ever been a better actor than Jack Nicholson. To be completely honest with you I can't name a single one. In my opinion, Jack Nicholson is the single greatest actor of all time.

 

Whether he's playing the star or a supporting role, Jack Nicholson never disappoints.

 

This statement is certainly not lacking on paper. Just take a look at his amazingly large list of credentials. Nominated for eleven academy awards, seven times for "Best Actor" in which he won twice, and four times for "Best Supporting Actor" in which he won once. He's been nominated for three Brittish Academy Awards, and won all three, twice for "Best Actor" and once for "Best Supporting Actor." Nominated twice for "Best Actor" of the Broadcast Film Critics Association and won one time. Few have accomplished what he has in terms of Golden Globe Awards: Won three of six nominations for Best Actor(Drama,) one of four nominations for Best Supporting Actor, and two of four nominations for Best Actor(Musical or Comedy.) He's won all four of his nominations by the L.A. Film Critics Association in which one was for "Best Supporting Actor" and three were for "Best Actor"(one of the three was a tie with Daniel Day-Lewis in 2002.) He was nominated for "Best Actor" in 2002 by the Screen Actors guild and won all of his five nominations by the National Board of Review, two awards for "Best Actor" and three for "Best Supporting Actor." He's also been nominated seven times by the New York Film Critics Circle, where he won three of four nominations for "Best Actor" and two of three nominations for "Best Supporting Actor."

 

His longevity is unmatched ... Few can claim that they've been nominated in both 1969 and 2003 ... Thirty-four years a part. He's shown us to excellent movies more than a decade ago such as "Easy Rider," "Chinatown," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," "Five Easy Peaces," and "Carnal Knowledge," while still entertaining us in very recent films such as "About Schmidt," "Anger Management," and "Something's Gotta Give."

 

He revolutionized the role of "Joker," which he played in the 1989 production of "Batman." His joker is obviously refferred too as the greatest movie character played of all time.

 

Whether he's looking to make us laugh in a comedy or looking to make us cry in a dramatic film, Jack Nicholson always gets the job done, no matter how old he gets, and to this day, of the many films he's played in, I've yet to see one bad performance by Jack Nicholson. As far as I'm concerned, he is the single greatest actor of all time.

 

Do you agree? If not, who do you believe to be the single greatest actor of all time?

[Guest The Shadow Behind You]

Robert Deniro

Al Pacino

James Stewart

 

are better right off the top of my head.

[Guest El Satanico]

I don't know if I can give Jack that title. There's no doubt he's a good actor and is always entertaining, but he also ends up just playing himself alot of the time.

 

Pacino and DeNiro seem to have this problem as well. All three of them aren't as good as they once were. I believe all three could still turn in a great performance if they were motivated to.

[Boner Kawanger 0]

"He revolutionized the role of "Joker," which he played in the 1989 production of "Batman." His joker is obviously refferred too as the greatest movie character played of all time."

 

I like Batman and The Joker and all, but that's just...wow.

[SpikeFayeJettEdBebop 0]

I personally like Pacino and Deniro better(I think they're better also) however, out of Deniro and Pacino, well I can't tell you who I think is better. Nevermind. DeNiro is better.

[Guest Vitamin X]

I'm sorry but Robert Deniro is the most overrated actor of all time. He's great, but certainly not one of the best.

 

Jack can play just about any role, in any genre, and do it well. The criticism of him playing himself in some roles is addressed by the fact that he's naturally charismatic.. A lot of actors can't really pull that off, and he does manage to do it, and do it well.

 

I would still be a little iffy on calling Jack the greatest actor of all time. He's done some great work, but he's got too much competition.. Brando, Grant, and Stewart all come to mind.

[razazteca 0]

Gary Oldman, Gene Hackman, Clint Eastwood come to mind.

[godthedog 0]

He revolutionized the role of "Joker," which he played in the 1989 production of "Batman." His joker is obviously refferred too as the greatest movie character played of all time.

i woke my roommate up i was laughing so hard at this. god bless the hyperbole.

 

anyway...

 

nicholson oozes charisma in a way that almost no one else does (except maybe jimmy stewart and, of course, brando), & he's a ton of fun to watch. great voice, great face, great control over his body.

 

Brando, Grant, and Stewart all come to mind.

yes, hell no, and yes, in that order. grant got by on star power a lot, & is way stiffer than even the worst nicholson performance. he's got the magnetism, just doesn't have that fluid control over his movements & such.

 

Gary Oldman, Gene Hackman, Clint Eastwood come to mind.

no, no, and no, in that order.

[spiny norman 0]

He revolutionized the role of "Joker," which he played in the 1989 production of "Batman." His joker is obviously refferred too as the greatest movie character played of all time.

Obviously.

 

And yes, sorry to repeat this section for the third time, but I too was incredibly amused by that.

 

As for him being the greatest actor of all time, I say no way. Possibly one of the most overrated. I find him so incredibly overbearing and intolerable in so much that he does. When with a great director who can keep him balanced, he'll be great (see: Roman Polanski, "Chinatown"; Stanley Kubrick, "The Shining"). But I can honestly say, those two aside, Nicholson has only managed to not irritate me immensely in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, As Good As It Gets, A Few Good Men and About Schmidt.

 

To say he's the greatest actor of all time is to be incredibly ignorant of the crap he does, and the great things others do.

 

Of those mentioned in this thread so far, I would take De Niro, Pacino, Brando, Grant, Stewart and Hackman over Nicholson.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

Marlon Brando, anyone?

 

Also, how about the trio of O'Toole, Burton, and Olivier.

[godthedog 0]

When with a great director who can keep him balanced, he'll be great (see: Roman Polanski, "Chinatown"; Stanley Kubrick, "The Shining").

i'm kind of offended by that, as both of those directors are notoriously terrible in working with actors, polanski for torturing them & kubrick for just not having a clue. i'm sure polanski has a better understanding of the craft, being an actor himself, and there might be some method to his madness, but kubrick was famous for caring more about the lighting and the lens he was using, and just making his actors do the take over & over. when i think of kubrick directing, i can't picture him getting a great performance out of anybody, and i sure as hell can't picture him sitting down with jack to help him work on his character.

[Guest thebigjig]

Olivier anyone??

 

Jack Nickolson is great and I have no reservation in listing him in my top 20, but I would hesitate in placing him as number one... but to be fair, I honestly don't know who I would give that ultimate place to considering it's such a difficult choice based on the sheer number of amazing actors out there both past and present.

 

EDIT:

 

Kahran beat me to it... I prefer his top three to anyone elses

[Mecha Mummy 0]

Toshiro Mifune is also a better actor than Jack Nicholson. Watch Seven Samurai and tell me he's not, I dare you.

[UseTheSledgehammerUh 0]

I think Tom Hanks is better than Nicholson by a bit.

 

He's been in more classics, IMO, anyway, and I've always liked him.

[Guest Boomer Sprinklespax]

When with a great director who can keep him balanced, he'll be great (see: Roman Polanski, "Chinatown"; Stanley Kubrick, "The Shining").

i'm kind of offended by that, as both of those directors are notoriously terrible in working with actors, polanski for torturing them & kubrick for just not having a clue. i'm sure polanski has a better understanding of the craft, being an actor himself, and there might be some method to his madness, but kubrick was famous for caring more about the lighting and the lens he was using, and just making his actors do the take over & over. when i think of kubrick directing, i can't picture him getting a great performance out of anybody, and i sure as hell can't picture him sitting down with jack to help him work on his character.

While Kubrick may not have been an "actor's director," to say he didn't get amazing performances is insane. It's possible that Jack Nicholson and Peter Sellers and the like performed with little to no help from Kubrick, and just happened to be that great on their own merits. I doubt it, but it's certainly possible, especially in Sellers case. However, I think it's highly improbable that people like Malcolm McDowell and Sterling Hayden and Adam Baldwin were as good as they were in Kubrick's flicks without some really solid directing.

[Guest ShamRock]

De Niro's the best, IMO.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Here's who came to mind for me before Jack:

 

Jimmy Stewart

Al Pacino

Robert DeNiro

Marlon Brando

Robert Duvall

Tom Hanks

[1234-5678 0]

Deniro took himself off of that list with "Analyze That" and "Rocky and Bullwinkle".

[justsoyouknow 0]

I'm sorry but Robert Deniro is the most overrated actor of all time. He's great, but certainly not one of the best...

 

...He's done some great work, but he's got too much competition.. Brando, Grant, and Stewart all come to mind.

I'm glad someone got around to saying it. DeNiro has been releasing stinkers left and right the past few years, and Pacino hasn't been in a movie in quite some time that actually garnered mainstream attention. I'd replace Grant with Bogart onto that list though.

[Ravenbomb 0]

Deniro took himself off of that list with "Analyze That" and "Rocky and Bullwinkle".

Everybody's done bad movies

[Guest Boomer Sprinklespax]

Deniro took himself off of that list with "Analyze That" and "Rocky and Bullwinkle".

Everybody's done bad movies

Just a bit of support for this:

 

Jimmy Stewart: An American Tail: Fievel Goes West

 

Al Pacino: Gigli, S1m0ne

 

Robert De Niro: the afformentioned Analyze That! and Rocky & Bullwinkle, as well as Showtime

 

Marlon Brando: The Island of Dr. Moreau

 

Robert Duvall: Gone In 60 Seconds, Falling Down

 

Tom Hanks: Radio Flyer, Turner & Hooch

 

Jack Nicholson: Tommy, Something's Gotta Give

 

There you have it.

[Ravenbomb 0]

Deniro took himself off of that list with "Analyze That" and "Rocky and Bullwinkle".

Everybody's done bad movies

Just a bit of support for this:

Marlon Brando: The Island of Dr. Moreau

Don't forget that Christopher Columbus movie

[1234-5678 0]

Tom Hanks: Turner & Hooch

You take that back damn it, take it back right now!

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

I've only seen Jimmy in It's a Wonderful Life, but nothing about him struck me as the greatest of all time. He didn't really jump out at me or anything.

 

Who do you think out of the current crop of young(er) actors will be put up on that list eventually? I think Ed Norton definitely has potential, he just needs to pick better movies.

[Nighthawk 0]

Toshiro Mifune is also a better actor than Jack Nicholson. Watch Seven Samurai and tell me he's not, I dare you.

He's not.

[godthedog 0]

I've only seen Jimmy in It's a Wonderful Life, but nothing about him struck me as the greatest of all time. He didn't really jump out at me or anything.

watch it again. then watch 'vertigo' and marvel at the fact that one man played both those parts. then watch 'mr smith goes to washington' and 'the philadelphia story'.

[Mecha Mummy 0]

Toshiro Mifune is also a better actor than Jack Nicholson. Watch Seven Samurai and tell me he's not, I dare you.

He's not.

Touche, but you're wrong. Jack Nicholson, as great as he is, essentially plays the same character in every film he's in. It's hard to view him as anything but "Hey, it's Jack Nicholson." in his movies. Even in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", which is a GREAT performance, it just feels like Jack Nicholson put in that situation. It's the same problem that Bill Murray has too. That's why Nicholson will always be one of the best, but not THE best.

 

Mifune, meanwhile, plays distinctly different characters in his films, and his role as Kikuchiyo in Seven Samurai smokes anything Nicholson's ever done.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

Actors stand out to me more when their natural personality leaks through characters. Mostly because I care less about the art of film making than I do about being amused. As a result, my favorite actors ever are John Wayne and probably Elvis. Peter Lorre's always a great greasy little bastard, too.

[nl5xsk1 0]

I'm the exact opposite of AoO ... I like it when an actor does such a good job of portraying a character that I forget that about the acting. It's one of the reasons that I like some questionable actors (e.g. Mickey Rourke) more than some "great" actors.

 

And, back to the actual thread, actors that I think are better than Nicholson:

Robert Duvall

Morgan Freeman

James Caan

Gary Oldman

Gene Hackman

[cabbageboy 0]

Nicholson isn't really the best ever mainly because he only excells at one type of role: a raving nutjob. I mean think about it, what are his most notable roles? The Shining, as the Joker, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, etc. In later years he's shifted to playing the middle aged/borderline senior eccentrics (As Good As It Gets, Something's Gotta Give, About Schmidt) but it's basically a variation on his basic character.

 

Basically, most of Nicholson's whole act is taken from Richard Widmark in Kiss of Death (maybe exaggerating a bit). Thing is Widmark could play a better selection of roles and despite not ever winning an oscar is to me a better actor than Nicholson.

 

De Niro is great no doubt, but he and Pacino have long since lapsed into caricature. As far as guys who are perennials and seem to always deliver no matter the role, I gotta say Hackman and Duvall. Superman IV aside, when has Hackman ever sucked?