It’s an indisputable fact that no list of silver screen icons would be complete without Jack Nicholson.
First finding global fame as one of the defining figures of the New Hollywood movement, Nicholson has gone on to appear in a huge range of iconic films – playing all manner of often madcap characters in a very diverse range of movies.
Now well into his 80s, Nicholson has been retired from acting for more than a decade, but he leaves behind a mightily impressive back catalogue that includes classics from directors such as Milos Forman, Stanley Kubrick and Martin Scorsese, among many, many more.
In honour of his birthday, we’ve picked out some of the highlights from that terrific career below – from his first Academy Award-nominated turn in Easy Rider to his last truly great performance in The Departed.
Of course, there are so many films to choose from here – especially from his unrivalled purple patch in the 1970s – and so in order to provide a more varied look at his filmography we’ve left out a number of classics such as The Conformist, Carnal Knowledge, and Reds in favour of some of his later work.
Here are Jack Nicholson’s best films, as chosen by RadioTimes.com.