An actor so iconic, he’s sometimes referred to simply as “Jack.” With many classic movies and classic performances under his belt, plus an impression that people like to do, Jack Nicholson has been sealed in film history as one of the boldest actors in history. Jack’s career spans decades with some of the most notable movies in cinema, including The Shining, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Batman, Wolf, As Good As It Gets and The Departed. Jack’s been out of the game for a while, and for someone so famous, even the paparazzi rarely catch him anywhere, except at Los Angeles Lakers games as a notorious fan.
Jack’s last film was a low-key supporting role in a comedy that may not be known to too many people. Thirteen years ago, he appeared in the 2010 movie How Do You Know — a romcom from his As Good As It Gets director, James L. Brooks. The Wrap reports that Marc Maron revealed on his podcast that a filmmaker friend of his had tried to get Jack to be in his movie, but ol’ Jack just wasn’t interested.
Maron’s guest on the episode was the veteran record producer and Sunset Strip impresario, who is a close friend of Nicholson, Lou Adler. Near the end of the episode’s close, Maron threw out an inquiry about how Jack was doing when he revealed his own little tidbit about him. “A friend of mine wanted to put him in a movie. And he had a conversation with him. But Jack says, ‘I don’t want to do it.’ He goes, ‘You know what I did today? I sat under a tree and I read a book.’” Adler laughed, saying, “That sounds like Jack.” Then, he added that Jack is just “doing whatever he really wants to do.” He continued, “He wants to be quiet. He wants to eat what he wants. He wants to live the life he wants.” While Jack has been seen at a few Laker games recently, Adler says, “I still go but I don’t go to as many. I used to go to every game — Jack and I would be at every game.”