10 Greatest Jack Nicholson Performances Of All Time

Easy Rider came out in 1969 and helped usher in a new wave of cinema. It was also the first major role of Jack Nicholson's career, and scored him his first Oscar nomination. Though his role as alcoholic lawyer George Hanson was short-lived, the actor's performance remains one of the best remembered and most iconic parts of the film.

Easy Rider's plot focuses on freewheelers Wyatt and Billy (Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper) as they secure a large sum of money from a drug deal and decide to travel across states to attend the Mardi Gras festival in New Orleans. Along the way, the pair come across George Hanson, who helps them get out of jail when they first meet and who decides to join them on their journey.

Though Fonda and Hopper are both brilliant as the main characters, it is Nicholson's supporting turn which made the movie such a sensation. Full of energy and hilariously sardonic, he stole the show with his limited screen time and created with his performance the film's most famous moments, including the image of him on the back of Billy's motorcycle and his high-as-a-kite monologue about aliens.

Short but sweet, Nicholson's role nonetheless kicked off a staggering career, and George Hanson remains one of his greatest ever characters.