The Tao of Jack Nicholson: Icon on Love, Sex, Movies
Hollywood Lothario, Oscar-winner, character actor, cinematic icon, the coolest man on Muholland Drive – over the years, Jack Nicholson has been all of these things and more. The man behind Randall McMurphy, Jack Torrance, Jake Gittes and oh-so-many other unforgettable angry young men and roaring lions in winters turned 80 years old over the weekend, and we’re celebrating with a gallery of his standout Rolling Stone covers and photo shoots. And just for kicks – because we do know Jack – we’ve collected a handful of his more memorable words of wisdom (some from our numerous cover stories, others from a variety of outside sources) on everything from how to survive six decades in the spotlight to his thoughts on death, sex, love and regret.
-
Jack on Our Decemeber 1975 Cover
“It is a slight stretch of the imagination,
but most people are alike in most ways. I never have any trouble
identifying with a character that I’m playing.”-Film Monthly -
‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ Feature Spread
“If men are honest, everything they do and everywhere they went was for a chance to see women. A lot of me being an actor was about that, and about me.”–The Sun
-
Jack on Our April 1981 Cover
“My religion basically is to be immediate, to live in the now. It’s an old cliche, I know, but it’s mine.”–Esquire
-
Jack in New York City, 1981
“It’s not that sex is the primary element of the universe…It’s just that when it’s unfulfilled, it will affect you.”–Playboy
-
Jack on Our March 1984 Cover
“I’m Irish. I think about death all the time.”-Chicago Sun Times (reprinted at RogertEbert.com)
-
The World’s Most Die-Hard Lakers Fan, 1984
“You only lie to two people in your life: your girlfriend and the police. Everybody else you tell the truth to.”–Vanity Fair
-
Jack on Our August 1986 Cover
“I’ve directed actors who have never acted before in a movie, and what I
learned to give them is …’If you get an impulse in a scene, no matter how
wrong it seems, follow the impulse.'”–Rolling Stone -
Jack Keeping Cool, 1986
“I know an awful lot about film making and I also know less is more. And
that a lot of things you learn, you have to forget about so that it’s
fresh now.”–New York Times -
The Man With the Mouth, December 1987
[On his character in As Good As It Gets] “There’s that one-up part of the New York patois: Accuse me of being an
anti-Semite and I’m going to be Adolf Hitler, you know what I mean?”–Rolling Stone -
Jack on Our March 1998 Cover
“With my sunglasses on, I’m Jack Nicholson. Without them, I’m fat and 60.”–quoted in Hello magazine
-
Made in the Shade(s), March 1998
“My motto is: more good times.”–Esquire
-
Jack on Our October 2006 Cover
“I’m unattached for quite a while so I have varied company. In terms of
age, you could say that over the last year, I’ve probably covered the
territory from twenty-one to sixty-one.”–Rolling Stone -
The Bloody Brilliant Jack, 2006
“What would it be like to fuck Britney Spears? I can answer that question: monumental. Life altering!”–Esquire
-
The Lion in Winter, 2007
“Always try to avoid interviews.”-Esquire