Jack Nicholson invented a secret trick that is the key to every part he has ever played

Jack Nicholson has disappeared from Hollywood After what was a disappointing end to one of the greatest film careers of all time with “How Do You Know?” 2010. The film saw Nicholson playing the head of a large company where George Paul Rudd works. If this doesn’t sound like the best use of a screen legend, it wasn’t. “how do you know?” It ended up being a star-studded box office flopwith reviewers chastising writer/director James L. Brooks for wasting such remarkable talent.

“how do you know?” It starred Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, and Owen Wilson, but the biggest loss must have been Nicholson himself, especially considering he ended his venerable screen career with this film. At this point, Nicholson didn’t need to do anything. In fact, he hasn’t needed to do anything since he signed a crazy contract with Warner Bros. To play the role of the Joker in the movie “Batman” in 1989 and Made for somewhere in the region of $50 million. But despite his sinister reputation, Nicholson wasn’t in Hollywood just for the money or fame.

The actor was impressed New York TimesRon Rosenbaum dates back to 1986 with his depth of knowledge and sincere commitment to his craft. The writer notes how, in his early days, Nicholson moved “from acting teacher to acting teacher in search of the truth,” and this thirst for understanding never seems to have left him. It also developed a technique to reach the heart of its characters. Specifically, Nicholson would identify one “secret” that would unlock his role, and he did so in every role he ever played.

Stanley Kubrick, who directed Jack Nicholson in 1980s film ‘The Shining’ said his star brought an ‘unactable’ quality to his profession. That quality was intelligence. All the while Nicholson was cultivating this stately public persona, he remained deeply thoughtful — something Ron Rosenbaum noted when he spoke to the Star in 1986, writing about how during the beginning of his career the actor would “sit in L.A. coffee houses for hours discussing Stanislavski’s metaphysics.” With similarly inclined film theorists.

When Nicholson’s career took off in the wake of his breakout role in 1969’s “Easy Rider,” he applied this thoughtful thinking to his roles, with Rosenbaum explaining how the actor was always “looking for some ‘secret’ to the role, some inner emotional dynamism.”, Prop, Piece A work that embodies the essence of his personality.” Nicholson explained how he created a “secret” for each part, but initially remained cagey about the subject when asked to reveal his “secret” for his role as Satan himself in The Witches of Eastwick, saying: “I’ll feel it’s been revealed… That’s the main thing I’ve learned.” “Never reveal these secrets, and certainly not before you do the thing, because you will feel exposed.”

Fortunately for us, Nicholson continued to do what he said he had learned never to do, revealing many of his “secrets.” For example, in his breakout performance in 1975’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, he claimed that the secret “isn’t in the book,” adding:

“My secret design was that this man is a con man who knows he is irresistible to women and, in fact, expects to seduce Nurse Ratched. This is his tragic flaw. This is why he ultimately fails. I discussed this with Louise (Fletcher, co-star and actress) “Nurse Ratched. I only discussed this with her. This is what I felt was really going on with that character – it was a long and unsuccessful seduction as the man was pathologically certain.”

And that wasn’t Nicholson’s only secret about sleeping with someone either…

In further explaining the process of using “secrets” to motivate his performances, Jack Nicholson used “Chinatown,” in which he plays private investigator JJ Gates, as an example. But this time, the secret was all about his on-screen shenanigans.

“There was kind of a three-way situation offstage,” the actor said. “I had just started going on a date with (co-star) John Huston’s daughter, which the world probably wasn’t aware of, but it could actually feed into the momentary reality of my scene with him.” Nicholson described Huston as a surrogate father, so perhaps sleeping with his daughter, Anjelica Huston, actually allowed him to get out of that kind of intense bonding with his co-star — though that seems less of a secret for his performance. And more Jack lives up to his public reputation. Nicholson also slapped Faye Dunaway for real (with her permission) in the movie “Chinatown.” Which will always help sell a performance and seems to be a very effective ‘secret’ in itself.

Elsewhere, the actor revealed that he used his father’s sunglasses in the role of George Hanson in Easy Rider, with Nicholson saying: “They’re not necessarily meant for a result, but for what they do for you.”

He also talked about a climatic scene in the 1981 historical drama “Reds,” which required him to deliver a poem to co-star Diane Keaton. The star revealed that he gave Keaton an actual poem. “That poem I dedicated to Miss Keaton,” he said. “I wrote a real poem that was very revealing (…) It’s the kind of thing that no one else sees, but you know it’s there. And believe me, I didn’t misplace that prop.”

What is Nicholson’s “secret” to playing the CEO in “How Do You Know?” I guess that’s something we’ll never know, since the guy has completely disappeared from the industry (Although he did play for the Lakers in 2023). But it would be interesting to see if he was still using this technique at that point – although it really seems like there is no “secret” that could save this particular movie.