20 Most Influential Actors Of All Time

One of the greatest actors to ever grace the screen, Jack Nicholson is the recipient of three Academy Awards amongst 12 nominations. He has had his hand in more classics of cinema than almost every actor in history. He is an actor of deep intelligence and maturity, whose every role is characterised by the complete submerging of his own personality; an actor who becomes every character he is given to play.

Some of his best roles can be found in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Chinatown, Five Easy Pieces, The Last Detail, Easy Rider and Reds, all of which helped sculpt the New Hollywood scene of the late '60s through to the '80s. He was seemingly unstoppable for the first part of his career, and became one of cinema's biggest stars as if overnight.

He is perhaps best remembered for The Shining, but his later career has also shown that just because time has passed, his talent sure hasn't. Roles in Terms of Endearment, As Good As It Gets and The Departed are just some of his later, exceptional performances. His influence on the younger actors of today is second to none, and he is rightfully considered to be amongst history's best.

Whether it's his bizarre likeability, his intensity, his subtly, his insanity or his seamless delivery, he is impossible to fully pin down and tough to lump into one particular genre or category, but no matter what he is always, well, as good as it gets.