Jack Nicholson At 80: His 10 Best Performances
1. Melvin Udall (As Good As It Gets)
You could quite easily interchange any character in this list, but here at number one is Melvin Udall, an obsessive-compulsive, homophobic, stay-at-home novelist living in New York City who alienates pretty much everyone due to his cutting misanthropic nature.
Udall's OCD manifests when he engages in a hilarious Ministry of Silly Walks-esque routine to avoid cracks in the pavement. His prehistoric bigoted views on homosexuality are exacerbated by living next door to a gay artist named Simon Bishop (Greg Kinnear).
At this point, Udall ought to be jettisoned from this list altogether, but then a couple of pivotal scenes in the film serve as catalysts for this character's remarkable and heartwarming transformation.
Firstly, the excruciatingly awkward scene in the diner when Udall makes an unforgivable remark about waitress Carol Connelly's (played by the equally outstanding Helen Hunt) asthmatic son, marks the first time Udall is aware of how much of a "crazy f**k" he really his.
Secondly, when his neighbour, Simon, gets savagely beaten up, Udall is practically ordered to look after the former's pet dog, which he then begins to grow a grudging affection for.
Do you have a favourite Jack Nicholson film that's not been mentioned here? If so, shout out in the comments below.