Biography
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is a retired American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark-themed portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for Academy Awards 12 times, winning Best Actor for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and for As Good as It Gets, and Best Supporting Actor for Terms of Endearment. He is tied with Walter Brennan for most acting wins by a male actor (three), and second to Katharine Hepburn for most acting wins overall ...
Known For
Complete Filmography

SNL50: The Homecoming Concert
2025
as Self
Live from Radio City Music Hall, witness the concert of a lifetime with a star-studded lineup bringing together legendary Saturday Night Live hall-of-...

Jack of Three Trades: In Focus on Nicholson the Director
2024
as Self (archive footage)
We all know Jack Nicholson the actor. But few know the history of Jack Nicholson the screenwriter, and especially Jack Nicholson the director. Nichols...

Clint Eastwood: The Last Legend
2022
as Self (archive footage)
The portrait of the last cowboy Hollywood legend dives into the 65 years of an extraordinary career in Hollywood, highlighted iconic films like The Go...

Mr. Saturday Night
2021
The untold story of Robert Stigwood, the impresario behind “Saturday Night Fever” and its record-breaking disco soundtrack.

Untold: Deal with the Devil
2021
as Self (archive footage)
Christy Martin broke boundaries and noses as she rose in the boxing world, but her public persona belied personal demons, abuse and a threat on her li...

Kubrick by Kubrick
2020
as Self (archive footage)
A rare and transcendent journey into the life and films of the legendary Stanley Kubrick like we've never seen before, featuring a treasure trove of u...

Joker: Put on a Happy Face
2020
as Self
Featuring interviews with filmmakers and industry legends, discover the origins and evolution of The Joker, and learn why The Clown Prince of Crime is...

40 Years of Rocky: The Birth of a Classic
2020
as Self (archive footage)
Sylvester Stallone and John G. Avildsen narrate behind-the-scenes footage from the making of "Rocky" to mark the film's 40th anniversary.

Dr. Jack & Mr. Nicholson
2019
as Self (archive footage)
In a Hollywood career spanning more than 50 years and with 60 movie credits to his name, Jack Nicholson has conquered everyone, becoming the archetypa...

Always at The Carlyle
2018
as Self (archive footage)
The iconic Carlyle hotel has been an international destination for a particular jet set as well as a favorite haunt of the most discernible New Yorker...

Jack Nicholson - The Devilish Smile of Hollywood
2017
as Self

And the Oscar Goes To...
2014
as Self (archive footage)
The story of the gold-plated statuette that became the film industry's most coveted prize, AND THE OSCAR GOES TO... traces the history of the Academy ...

Close Up
2012
as Self (archive footage)
More than 150 silent short films about singers, actors and directors captured during Press Conferences in Cannes, Venice and Berlin, between 1993 and ...

Corman's World
2011
as Self - Actor
A chronicle of the long career of American filmmaker Roger Corman, the most tenacious and ingenious low-budget producer and director in the US film in...

How Do You Know
2010
as Charles
After being cut from the USA softball team and feeling a bit past her prime, Lisa finds herself evaluating her life and in the middle of a love triang...

BBStory: An American Film Renaissance
2010
as Self
This 2009 documentary features directors Bob Rafelson, Peter Bogdanovich, and Henry Jaglom, actor-director Jack Nicholson, and actresses Karen Black a...

Drive, He Said: A Cautionary Tale of Campus Revolution and Sexual Freedom
2010
as Self
A video piece featuring Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern and others discussing the production history of "Drive, He Said."
America Lost and Found: The BBS Story
2010
as Self
Documentary on the BBS company who released some of the best films of the 1970s.

Soul Searching in 'Five Easy Pieces'
2010
as Self
A video piece featuring director Bob Rafelson and actor Jack Nicholson, discussing the production of the film "Five Easy Pieces" (1970).

Stardust
2010
as Self (uncredited)
Stardust is the second part of the trilogy where Provost films everyday life with a hidden high resolution camera and edits the images into a fiction ...

I'm Still Here
2010
as Jack Nicholson
I'm Still Here is a portrayal of a tumultuous year in the life of actor Joaquin Phoenix. With remarkable access, the film follows the Oscar-nominee as...
Mulholland Drive - Ein Hollywood-Mythos
2010
as Self
Documentary about the Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles.

Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight
2008
as Self
A 6 part documentary of making of Batman franchise.

Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
2008
as Self / Jake Gittes (archive footage)
Examines the public scandal and private tragedy which led to legendary director Roman Polanski's sudden flight from the United States.

Notes on an American Film Director at Work
2008
as Self
Filmmaker Jonas Mekas follows his friend, film director Martin Scorsese, and his cast and crew, through various locations during the shooting of his f...

The Bucket List
2007
as Edward Periman Cole
Corporate billionaire Edward Cole and working class mechanic Carter Chambers are worlds apart. At a crossroads in their lives, they share a hospital r...

View from the Overlook: Crafting 'The Shining'
2007
as Self
An overview of the making of, and a look at the continuing popularity of, Stanley Kubrick's The Shining.

The Visions of Stanley Kubrick
2007
as Self
A look at the visual design of the film The Shining (1980).

Lost Kubrick: The Unfinished Films of Stanley Kubrick
2007
as Self
He is considered by many the greatest film director the medium has ever known. Yet in a 45-year career, Stanley Kubrick's films number only a dozen. T...

Into the Wild
2007
Thanks
After graduating from Emory University in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savi...

Witness to 'Reds'
2006
as Self
Cast and crew of "Reds" revisit their memories and stories while making the film.

The Departed
2006
as Costello
To take down South Boston's Irish Mafia, the police send in one of their own to infiltrate the underworld, not realizing the syndicate has done likewi...

Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast
2005
as Self - Presenter
A one-hour, commercial-free benefit concert television special that aired simulcast worldwide on September 9, 2005, at 8 pm ET/CT live.

Jack Nicholson: The Joker Is Wild
2004
as Self(archive footage)
The life and times of famous Jack Nicholson include his 30-years relationship with Anjelica Houston and find out his sister is his real mother.

Jack Nicholson: The Joker Is Wild
2004
Producer
The life and times of famous Jack Nicholson include his 30-years relationship with Anjelica Houston and find out his sister is his real mother.

Something's Gotta Give
2003
as Harry Sanborn
When perpetually single, aging music industry exec Harry Sanborn, and his latest trophy girlfriend, Marin, arrive at her mother's beach house in the H...

Anger Management
2003
as Dr. Buddy Rydell
After a small misunderstanding aboard an airplane escalates out of control, timid businessman Dave Buznik is ordered by the court to undergo anger man...

About Schmidt
2002
as Warren Schmidt
A recently retired man embarks on a journey to his estranged daughter's wedding, only to discover more about himself and life than he ever expected.

Paul McCartney: Back in the U.S.
2002
as Self
In 2002, a 60-year old McCartney refocused the attention on his musicianship, staging a massive live concert in Cleveland, Ohio. The superstar, who we...

The Kid Stays in the Picture
2002
as Self (archive footage)
Documentary about legendary Paramount producer Robert Evans, based on his famous 1994 autobiography.

America | A Tribute to Heroes
2001
as Self
A benefit concert and telethon organized by George Clooney and broadcast uninterrupted and commercial-free by the four major television networks just ...

Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures
2001
as Self
With commentary from Hollywood stars, outtakes from his movies and footage from his youth, this documentary looks at Stanley Kubrick's life and films....

The Pledge
2001
as Jerry Black
A police chief about to retire pledges to help a woman find her daughter's killer.

Velocity
1999
as Johnny Varron (young) (archive footage)
Low-budget action flic produced by Roger Corman and mostly edited from his black-and-white production "The Wild Ride" (1960), now in colour and with 2...

Junket Whore
1998
as Self
A documentary film that explores the relationship between publicists and journalists in Hollywood.

As Good as It Gets
1997
as Melvin Udall
Melvin Udall, a cranky, bigoted, obsessive-compulsive writer of romantic fiction, is rude to everyone he meets, including his gay neighbor, Simon. Aft...

The Evening Star
1996
as Garrett Breedlove
Continuing the story of Aurora Greenway in her latter years. After the death of her daughter, Aurora struggled to keep her family together, but has on...

Mars Attacks!
1996
as President Dale / Art Land
A fleet of Martian spacecraft surrounds the world's major cities and all of humanity waits to see if the extraterrestrial visitors have, as they claim...

Blood and Wine
1996
as Alex
A man who has failed as a father and husband commits a heist to make money for his fledging business, but things become complicated when his wife inte...

Shirley Maclaine: Kicking Up Her Heels
1996
as Self (archive footage)
Shirley MacLaine was the product of a strict middle-class background from which she and her brother, the future actor Warren Beatty, escaped into the ...

The Rolling Stones: Totally Stripped
1995
as Self
Totally Stripped is a newly revised version of the documentary that was originally made to coincide with the release of The Rolling Stones Stripped al...

The Rolling Stones: Stripped
1995
as Self
TV Special. 13 Classic Acoustic and Live Tracks Recorded in Paris, Tokyo, Amsterdam and London during 1995 European Tour.

The Crossing Guard
1995
as Freddy Gale
Unable to move on from the loss of his daughter, Freddy, now a shell of the person he was before, swears to kill the man responsible for her death.

Wolf
1994
as Will Randall
Aging publisher Will Randall is at the end of his rope when a younger co-worker snatches his job out from under his nose. But after being bitten by a ...

Hoffa
1992
as James R. 'Jimmy' Hoffa
A portrait of union leader James R. Hoffa, as seen through the eyes of his friend, Bobby Ciaro. The film follows Hoffa through his countless battles w...

A Few Good Men
1992
as Col. Nathan R. Jessep
When cocky military lawyer Lt. Daniel Kaffee and his co-counsel, Lt. Cmdr. JoAnne Galloway, are assigned to a murder case, they uncover a hazing ritua...

Man Trouble
1992
as Harry Bliss
A sleazy but affable guard dog trainer is blackmailed to steal a manuscript for a tell-all book from one of his clients.

The Two Jakes
1990
as J.J. "Jake" Gittes
Real estate developer Jake Berman hires private investigator and war veteran Jake Gittes for some run-of-the-mill matrimonial work. After Berman shoot...

The Two Jakes
1990
Director, Producer
Real estate developer Jake Berman hires private investigator and war veteran Jake Gittes for some run-of-the-mill matrimonial work. After Berman shoot...

Batman
1989
as Jack Napier / The Joker
Batman must face his most ruthless nemesis when a deformed madman calling himself "The Joker" seizes control of Gotham's criminal underworld.

On the tracks of a filmmaker
1988
as Jack Nicholson

Ironweed
1987
as Francis Phelan
An alcoholic drifter spends Halloween in his hometown of Albany, New York after returning there for the first time in decades.

Broadcast News
1987
as Bill Rorich
Basket-case network news producer Jane Craig falls for new reporter Tom Grunnick, a pretty boy who represents the trend towards entertainment news she...

Creepy Classics
1987
as Rexford Bedlo - (archive footage)
A compilation of trailers for various horror and sci-fi films, narrated and hosted by Vincent Price.
Rabbit Ears - How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin/How the Camel Got His Hump
1987
as Narrator (voice)
How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin: When the Rhinoceros rudely eats the Parsee Man's cake, the Parsee Man's revenge causes the Rhinoceros to have the ski...

The Witches of Eastwick
1987
as Daryl Van Horne
Three single women in a picturesque Rhode Island village have their wishes granted - at a cost - when a mysterious and flamboyant man arrives in their...

Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories
1987
as Narrator (voice)
Two tall tales based on Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories; featuring a Parsee man seeking for payback on a cake-munching piggish rhinoceros, and a laz...

Barbra Streisand: One Voice
1986
as Self - Audience Member (uncredited)
Originally broadcast as an exclusive special on HBO, Barbra Streisand launched her September 6, 1986 concert One Voice, in part, as a protest against ...
The Elephant's Child
1986
as Narrator (voice)
When a curious elephant child wants to know about the crocodile that lives in the river, he gets a big surprise that might change his life forever.

Heartburn
1986
as Mark
Rachel is a food writer at a New York magazine who meets Washington columnist Mark at a wedding and ends up falling in love with him despite her reser...

Live Aid
1985
as Self
Live Aid was held on 13 July 1985, simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, and the John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, United State...

Prizzi's Honor
1985
as Charley Partanna
Charley Partanna is a hitman who works for the Prizzis, one of the richest crime families in the US. When he sees Irene Walker, it's love at first sig...

Terms of Endearment
1983
as Garrett Breedlove
Aurora, a finicky woman, is in search of true love while her daughter faces marital issues. Together, they help each other deal with problems and find...

The Border
1982
as Charlie Smith
A corrupted border agent decides to clean up his act when an impoverished woman's baby is put up for sale on the black market.

Reds
1981
as Eugene O'Neill
An account of the revolutionary years of the legendary American journalist John Reed, who shared his adventurous professional life with his radical co...

The Postman Always Rings Twice
1981
as Frank Chambers
The sensuous wife of a lunch wagon proprietor and a rootless drifter begin a sordidly steamy affair and conspire to murder her Greek husband.

Making 'The Shining'
1980
as Self
Directed and edited by Stanley Kubrick's daughter Vivian Kubrick, this film offers a look behind the scenes during the making of The Shining.

The Shining
1980
as Jack Torrance
Jack Torrance accepts a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel, where he, along with his wife Wendy and their son Danny, must live isolated from the rest...

Goin' South
1978
as Henry Moon
Henry Moon is captured for a capital offense by a posse when his horse quits while trying to escape to Mexico. He finds that there is a post-Civil War...

Goin' South
1978
Director
Henry Moon is captured for a capital offense by a posse when his horse quits while trying to escape to Mexico. He finds that there is a post-Civil War...

The Last Tycoon
1976
as Brimmer
Monroe Stahr, a successful movie producer, pursues a beautiful and elusive young woman — all the while working himself to death.

The Missouri Breaks
1976
as Tom Logan
When vigilante land baron David Braxton hangs one of the best friends of cattle rustler Tom Logan, Logan's gang decides to get even by purchasing a sm...

TVTV Looks at the Oscars
1976
as Self
Made in 1976, TVTV's close-up look at Hollywood's annual awards ritual mixes irreverent documentary with deadpan comedy. TVTV's cameras go behind the ...

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1975
as Randle Patrick McMurphy
A petty criminal fakes insanity to serve his sentence in a mental ward rather than prison. He soon finds himself as a leader to the other patients—and...

The Fortune
1975
as Oscar 'Dix' Sullivan
Two bumbling hustlers in the 1920s attempt to gain the fortune of an heiress. Nothing will stop them, not even murder.

Tommy
1975
as The Specialist
After a series of traumatic childhood events, a psychosomatically deaf, dumb and blind boy becomes a master pinball player and the object of a religio...

The Passenger
1975
as David Locke
David Locke is a world-weary American journalist who has been sent to cover a conflict in northern Africa, but he makes little progress with the story...

Chinatown
1974
as J.J. 'Jake' Gittes
Private eye Jake Gittes lives off of the murky moral climate of sunbaked, pre-World War II Southern California. Hired by a beautiful socialite to inve...

The Last Detail
1973
as SM1 Billy 'Bad Ass' Buddusky
Two Navy men are ordered to bring a young offender to prison, but decide to show him one last good time along the way.

The King of Marvin Gardens
1972
as David Staebler
Jason Staebler lives on the Boardwalk and fronts for the local mob in Atlantic City. He is a dreamer who asks his brother David, a radio personality f...
Yoko Ono: This Is Not Here
1972
as Self
"On John's 31st birthday, Yoko held an art exhibit, "This Is Not Here", at the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, N.Y.. The show was taped and aired o...

A Safe Place
1971
as Mitch
Noah, a young woman who lives alone in New York, is dating two very different men, Fred and Mitch, at the same time. However, she realises that neithe...

Carnal Knowledge
1971
as Jonathan
Two lifelong friends navigate complex sexual encounters and emotional entanglements, wrestling with societal norms and personal desires.

Drive, He Said
1971
as Annoyed Bearded Guy
Hector is a star basketball player for the College basketball team he plays for, the Leopards. His girlfriend, Olive, doesn't know whether to stay wit...

Drive, He Said
1971
Director, Screenplay, Producer
Hector is a star basketball player for the College basketball team he plays for, the Leopards. His girlfriend, Olive, doesn't know whether to stay wit...

Walt Whitman: Poet for a New Age
1971
as Narrator
An introduction to Walt Whitman, American poet, essayist, and journalist. A world poet-a latter-day successor to Homer, Virgil, Dante, and Shakespeare...

Five Easy Pieces
1970
as Robert Eroica Dupea
A drop-out from upper-class America picks up work along the way on oil-rigs when his life isn't spent in a squalid succession of bars, motels, and oth...

On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
1970
as Tad Pringle
Daisy Gamble, an unusual woman who hears phones before they ring, and does wonders with her flowers, wants to quit smoking to please her fiancé, Warre...

Rebel Rousers
1970
as Bunny
In a small, US costal town with many Spanish speakers, a motorcycle gang arrives on holiday. Also in town to try to reconnect with his pregnant girlfr...

Easy Rider
1969
as George Hanson
Wyatt and Billy, two Harley-riding hippies, complete a drug deal in Southern California and decide to travel cross-country in search of spiritual trut...

Head
1968
as Self (uncredited)
In this surrealistic and free-form follow-up to the Monkees' television show, the band frolic their way through a series of musical set pieces and vig...

Head
1968
Writer, Producer
In this surrealistic and free-form follow-up to the Monkees' television show, the band frolic their way through a series of musical set pieces and vig...

Targets
1968
as Lt. Andre Duvalier (archive footage) (uncredited)
An aging horror-movie icon's fate intersects with that of a seemingly ordinary young man on a psychotic shooting spree around Los Angeles.

Psych-Out
1968
as Stoney
Jenny, a deaf runaway who has just arrived in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district to find her long-lost brother, a mysterious bearded sculptor kno...

The Movie Orgy
1968
as Self (archive footage)
Clips from assorted television programs, B-movies, commercials, music performances, newsreels, bloopers, satirical short films and promotional and gov...

The Trip
1967
Writer
After his wife leaves him, a disillusioned director dives into the drug scene, trying anything his friend suggests.

The St. Valentine's Day Massacre
1967
as Gino, Hit Man (uncredited)
Chicago February 14th 1929. Al Capone finally establishes himself as the city's boss of organised crime. In a north-side garage his hoods, dressed as ...

Hells Angels on Wheels
1967
as Poet
At first gas station attendant Poet is happy when the rockers gang “Hell’s Angels” finally accepts him. But he’s shocked when he learns how brutal the...

Ride in the Whirlwind
1966
as Wes
Three cowboys, mistaken for members of an outlaw gang, are relentlessly pursued by a posse.

Ride in the Whirlwind
1966
Writer, Producer
Three cowboys, mistaken for members of an outlaw gang, are relentlessly pursued by a posse.

The Shooting
1966
as Billy Spear
Two miners agree to guide a mysterious woman, who has appeared in their camp from nowhere, to a nearby town; but soon, because of her erratic behavior...

The Shooting
1966
Producer
Two miners agree to guide a mysterious woman, who has appeared in their camp from nowhere, to a nearby town; but soon, because of her erratic behavior...

Back Door to Hell
1964
as Burnett
During WWII, a three-man commando team places its trust in the hands of a band of Filipino resistors, as they try to knock out a Japenese communicatio...

Cordillera
1964
Screenplay
DESTROY THIS MAN and a fortune in diamonds is yours. A Filipino version of 1964's FLIGHT TO FURY, filmed back-to-back with that film.

Flight to Fury
1964
as Jay Wickham
This adventure is set in the Philippines and chronicles the exploits of two men who survive a plane crash in the jungle. One of the men is an avaricio...

Flight to Fury
1964
Writer
This adventure is set in the Philippines and chronicles the exploits of two men who survive a plane crash in the jungle. One of the men is an avaricio...

Ensign Pulver
1964
as Yeoman Dolan
1945, on an old cargo ship somewhere deep in the Pacific ocean: Captain Morton strives to become commander, so he demands the maximum quality of work ...

Thunder Island
1963
Screenplay
A hit man hijacks a boat — and the married couple aboard — in order to carry out a contract on a dictator in the Caribbean.

The Terror
1963
as Lt. Andre Duvalier
Lt. Andre Duvalier awakens on a beach to the sight of a strange woman who leads him to the gothic, towering castle that serves as home to an eerie bar...

The Terror
1963
Director
Lt. Andre Duvalier awakens on a beach to the sight of a strange woman who leads him to the gothic, towering castle that serves as home to an eerie bar...

The Raven
1963
as Rexford Bedlo
A magician who has been turned into a raven turns to a former sorcerer for help.

The Broken Land
1962
as Will
A cowboy rides into a small town that is ruled with an iron fist by a corrupt sheriff. He becomes involved with a pretty young town girl and some resi...

The Hour of St. Francis
1962
as Jim Evans
Jack Nicholson starred in the movie "The Challenge", which is the story of a high school student who decides to become a priest. The movie begins as a...

Little Amy
1962
as Jefferson City Coach
Nine-year-old Amy has decided that klutzy neighbor Arthur is the one she's going to marry. However, Arthur is too busy trying, and failing miserably, ...

Studs Lonigan
1960
as Weary Reilly
A young man tries to escape the South Side of 1920s Chicago.

The Little Shop of Horrors
1960
as Wilbur Force
Seymour works in a skid row florist shop and is in love with his beautiful co-worker, Audrey. He creates a new plant that not only talks but cannot su...

The Wild Ride
1960
as Johnny Varron
A rebellious punk of the beat generation spends his days as an amateur dirt track driver in between partying and troublemaking.

Too Soon to Love
1960
as Buddy
Unmarried teenage lovers turn to desperate measures after their clandestine tryst results in an unplanned pregnancy.

The Cry Baby Killer
1958
as Jimmy Wallace
After committing what he thinks is murder, teenage Jimmy Wallace panics and holds a couple hostage.