10 Greatest Jack Nicholson Performances Of All Time
2. Randle McMurphy - One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
"Which one of you nuts has got any guts?"
Jack Nicholson took home his first Oscar for his turn as Randle McMurphy (though he should have won for Chinatown the previous year) and gave one his best ever performances, blending together all the trademarks of his acting style - from the bursts of frustration to the hilarious laughter, from the signature smile to the thoughtful monologues.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest focuses on McMurphy as he is confined to ward for the mentally unstable, faking insanity to get out of going to jail. There, he forms a connection with the various patients on the ward and must rise up against the growing tyranny of Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher).
An intelligent, darkly funny, bittersweet and emotionally shattering tale of identity and the joys and hardships of life, the film's best player is Nicholson, whose portrayal of McMurphy is everything you'd expect from the actor and more. It's full of energy, so much so that he seems to burst from the screen whenever he speaks, and it's full of humanity. McMurphy is at once a rebel and and a man full of kindness and honesty, and the final moments of his journey makes for the perfect example of a tearjerker.
Winning his first Oscar for the role, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest made Nicholson an indispensable Hollywood star.