# Jack Nicholson filmography

Jack Nicholson is an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter who made his film debut in The Cry Baby Killer (1958). Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of his generation. He is also one of the most critically acclaimed: his 12 Academy Award nominations make him the most nominated male actor in the Academy's history. He is also a Kennedy Center Honoree and a recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award and the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award.
In the first decade of his acting career, Nicholson had several minor roles in film and television, only having significant parts in independent films. Nicholson's breakout role was in the countercultural Easy Rider (1969). Nicholson next appeared in Five Easy Pieces (1970). He then starred in the comedy-drama Carnal Knowledge (1971). His performance in The Last Detail (1973) garnered him the Cannes Best Actor Award. For his performance in the Roman Polanski-directed Chinatown (1974), he was awarded the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama. He then portrayed Randle McMurphy in the Miloš Forman-directed One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), which won Best Picture and garnered him the Academy Award for Best Actor and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama. In 1976, he starred in the film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Last Tycoon (1941). Also that year, Nicholson costarred with Marlon Brando in the western The Missouri Breaks. In 1978, Nicholson directed and starred in another western, Goin' South.
In 1980, Nicholson played Jack Torrance in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. For his portrayal of playwright Eugene O'Neill in Reds (1981), Nicholson was awarded the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture for his acting in Terms of Endearment (1983). He later returned in the 1996 sequel The Evening Star. He collaborated with director John Huston in Prizzi's Honor (1985), for which Nicholson earned another Best Actor nomination from the Academy. His role as Francis Phelan in Ironweed (1987) garnered him yet another Oscar nomination for Best Actor. He then portrayed the Joker in the Tim Burton-directed Batman (1989). Nicholson subsequently directed and acted in The Two Jakes (1990), a sequel to Chinatown. In 1992, he portrayed Jimmy Hoffa in the Danny DeVito-directed Hoffa. That year Nicholson also appeared in the Rob Reiner-directed A Few Good Men. He collaborated with Burton again on Mars Attacks! (1996). His next role in As Good as It Gets (1997) garnered him the Academy Award for Best Actor and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. In 2006, he starred alongside Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio in the Martin Scorsese-directed The Departed. He starred opposite Morgan Freeman in the 2007 comedy The Bucket List. His final film appearance was in How Do You Know (2010).

## Film

Table containing films with Jack Nicholson :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1958 | The Cry Baby Killer | Jimmy Wallace | |
| 1960 | Too Soon to Love | Buddy | |
| 1960 | The Wild Ride | Johnny Varron | |
| 1960 | The Little Shop of Horrors | Wilbur Force | |
| 1960 | Studs Lonigan | Weary Reilly | |
| 1962 | The Broken Land | Will Brocious | |
| 1963 | The Raven | Rexford Bedlo | |
| 1963 | The Terror | Andre Duvalier | |
| 1963 | Thunder Island | — | Writer only |
| 1964 | Flight to Fury | Jay Wickham | Also writer |
| 1964 | Back Door to Hell | Burnett | |
| 1964 | Ensign Pulver | Dolan | |
| 1966 | The Shooting | Billy Spear | Also producer |
| 1966 | Ride in the Whirlwind | Wes | Also writer and producer |
| 1967 | The St. Valentine's Day Massacre | Gino | Uncredited |
| 1967 | Hells Angels on Wheels | Poet | |
| 1967 | The Trip | — | Writer only |
| 1968 | Psych-Out | Stoney | |
| 1968 | Head | Movie Director in Restaurant | Uncredited cameo Also writer and producer |
| 1969 | Easy Rider | George Hanson | |
| 1970 | On a Clear Day You Can See Forever | Tad Pringle | |
| 1970 | The Rebel Rousers | Bunny | |
| 1970 | Five Easy Pieces | Robert Eroica Dupea | |
| 1971 | Carnal Knowledge | Jonathan Fuerst | |
| 1971 | A Safe Place | Mitch | |
| 1971 | Drive, He Said | — | Director, writer and producer |
| 1972 | The King of Marvin Gardens | David Staebler | |
| 1973 | The Last Detail | Signalman 1st Class Billy L. "Badass" Buddusky | |
| 1974 | Chinatown | J. J. "Jake" Gittes | |
| 1975 | Tommy | The Specialist | |
| 1975 | The Passenger | David Locke | |
| 1975 | The Fortune | Oscar Sullivan | |
| 1975 | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | Randle Patrick "Mac" McMurphy | |
| 1976 | The Missouri Breaks | Tom Logan | |
| 1976 | The Last Tycoon | Brimmer | |
| 1978 | Goin' South | Henry Lloyd Moon | Also director |
| 1980 | The Shining | Jack Torrance | |
| 1981 | The Postman Always Rings Twice | Frank Chambers | |
| 1981 | Reds | Eugene O'Neill | |
| 1982 | The Border | Charlie Smith | |
| 1983 | Terms of Endearment | Garrett Breedlove | |
| 1985 | Prizzi's Honor | Charley Partanna | |
| 1986 | Heartburn | Mark Forman | |
| 1987 | The Witches of Eastwick | Daryl Van Horne | |
| 1987 | Broadcast News | Bill Rorish | |
| 1987 | Ironweed | Francis Phelan | |
| 1989 | Batman | Jack Napier / The Joker | |
| 1990 | The Two Jakes | J. J. "Jake" Gittes | Also director and producer |
| 1992 | Man Trouble | Harry Bliss | |
| 1992 | A Few Good Men | Colonel Nathan R. Jessup | |
| 1992 | Hoffa | Jimmy Hoffa | |
| 1994 | Wolf | Will Randall | |
| 1995 | The Crossing Guard | Freddy Gale | |
| 1996 | Blood and Wine | Alex Gates | |
| 1996 | Mars Attacks! | President James Dale / Art Land | |
| 1996 | The Evening Star | Garrett Breedlove | |
| 1997 | As Good as It Gets | Melvin Udall | |
| 2001 | The Pledge | Jerry Black | |
| 2002 | About Schmidt | Warren R. Schmidt | |
| 2003 | Anger Management | Dr. Buddy Rydell | |
| 2003 | Something's Gotta Give | Harry Sanborn | |
| 2006 | The Departed | Francis "Frank" Costello | |
| 2007 | The Bucket List | Edward Perriman Cole | |
| 2010 | How Do You Know | Charles Madison | |

## Television

Table containing television appearances by Jack Nicholson :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1956 | NBC Matinee Theater | Musician's Son | Episode: "Are You Listening?" |
| 1960 | Mr. Lucky | Martin | Episode: "Operation Fortuna?" |
| 1960 | The Barbara Stanwyck Show | Bud | Episode: "The Mink Coat" |
| 1961 | Tales of Wells Fargo | Tom Washburn | Episode: "That Washburn Girl" |
| 1961 | Sea Hunt | John Stark | Episode: "Round Up" |
| 1961 | Bronco | Bob Doolin | Episode: "The Equalizer" |
| 1962 | Hawaiian Eye | Tony Morgan | Episode: "Total Eclipse" |
| 1966 | Dr. Kildare | Jaime Angel | 4 episodes |
| 1966–67 | The Andy Griffith Show | Marvin Jenkins / Mr. Garland | 2 episodes |
| 1967 | The Guns of Will Sonnett | Tom Murdock | Episode: "A Son for a Son" |
| 1986 | The Elephant's Child | Narrator (voice) | Television short |
| 1988 | How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin & How the Camel Got His Hump | Narrator (voice) | Television short |
| 2015 | Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special | Himself | Television special |
| 2025 | Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special | Himself | Television special |