When people pay to see a Jack Nicholson film they except to see something archetypal 'Jack' in the performance. Nicholson is aware of this and allows his own persona to shine through his roles. Sometimes this can drown out a performance (see Witches of Eastwick, Mars Attacks! etc) but on better occasions just a glimmer of Jack can bring nuance to less colourful parts, (see The Pledge, Wolf, About Schimdt).
17. Has Appeared Alongside Some of Cinema's Other True Greats
Whether it was opposite horror legends Boris Karloff and Vincent Price in B-Movie horror pics The Terror and The Raven subsequently, Orson Welles in A Safe Place, Marlon Brando in Missouri Breaks or (then, father-in-law) John Huston in Chinatown, Nicholson has held his own opposite a galaxy of acting greats.
18. Isn't Afraid To Display Vulnerability
Witness his final breakdown in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest or his all consuming defeat at the end of Chinatown, or savour the intellectual frustration his character exposes in The Shining. Better still study Nicholson sobbing, crouched over his dead daughter's grave in The Crossing Guard. Nicholson is man enough to display the sensitive side; revealing deep hidden male human insecurities.
19. Buddusky in The Last Detail (1973)
'Bad Ass' Buddusky in The Last Detail gave Nicholson a chance to shun the intellect and go all out to offend, sin and generally cause havoc as an unscrupulous navy officer detailed to escort a young soldier (Randy Quaid) to the brig for an eight year sentence. But it's his heart-warming endeavour to give the guy a proper send-off (drinking, partying, getting laid etc) that colours the role with some interesting contradictions.
20. The Look
Jack Nicholson has one of the most interesting faces in movies: those sharp, somewhat sinful eyes framed by extravagant eyebrows and a high, forever receding brow along with THAT mischievous Cheshire cat grin. Now into his seventies his weathered look helps to enrich the supporting parts he plays. Every wrinkle tells a story as they say.