There is no match to the intensity and versatility of this actor John Joseph Nicholson, famously known as Jack Nicholson, is the most critically acclaimed from Hollywood to hold the record for his 12 Academy Award nominations, making him the most nominated male actor in the Academy's history. With a career spanning over 60 years, the American actor and filmmaker has played a wide range of roles, from comical characters, romantic heroes to anti-heroes and villains. Needless to say that the three-time Oscar-winning actor is versatile in his roles, Nicholson is both effective and powerful. Though he has taken a back seat from acting, here are a few of his films that one should definitely watch. Five Easy Pieces This 1970 drama film showcases Nicholson’s immense talent combined with a powerful performance. Directed by Bob Rafelson, it follows blue-collar surly oil rig worker Bobby Dupea who had walked away from his life of privilege but had to return back to his roots on learning that his father is dying. Taking along his girlfriend, he returns to his family home in Washington to visit his dying father. Showing Nicholson’s vulnerable yet dangerous side the film was nominated for four Academy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards. About Schmidt Breaking his own mold of the usual high-voltage charisma to play a small broken man in this tragic black comedy, Nicholson’s performance in this film got him his 12th Oscar nomination for best actor. Sporting a comb-over haircut, Nicholson plays a bland Midwest retiree who finds himself lost after his wife suddenly dies. The story starts to unravel when he takes to the road in a Winnebago to head to his distant daughter’s wedding in Denver where he meets her mother-in-law who has no problem stripping down and soaking naked in the hot tub in his company. The Pledge As Jerry Black, a retired Nevada detective who is reliving his last case that involves a murdered child, Nicholson brings to screen an old man’s haunted soul ditching his usual cranky style. Nicholson portrays a character, who is pathologically consumed with his vow to catch the brutal killer of a young girl after a mentally disabled suspect is found and ends up shooting himself. Director Sean Penn's forte into obsession and revenge exposes the unseen side of the legendary actor. Batman In this 1989 director Tim Burton's debut Gotham City adventure, Nicholson as the Joker broke the glass ceiling in the portrayal of a villain from the campy villains from the ‘60s TV show. Nicholson effortlessly outshone Michael Keaton's Batman and relished the chance to crank up his supervillain persona to another height setting a new bar for all future comic-book baddies.
