The actor Meryl Streep called the Mick Jagger of cinema: “I think he’s a master”
Throughout her time as one of Hollywood’s leading actors, Meryl Streep has starred opposite many iconic stars that most people could only dream of working with. Earning three Oscars (from a whopping 21 nominations), Streep has consistently demonstrated her natural skill for acting, having emerged in the industry during the 1970s. Since then, she has brushed shoulders with everyone from Robert Redford to Clint Eastwood, leading star-studded casts or giving memorable supporting roles.
Whatever Streep is in, you’re sure to remember her performance – she’s not one of the most celebrated actors of all time for no reason.
Her first film role saw her appear alongside Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave in Julia, and it wouldn’t be long before she landed parts in films that would become acclaimed classics of the era, like The Deer Hunter and Kramer vs Kramer. The 1980s was a big decade for Streep, with movies like Sophie’s Choice, Out of Africa, and Ironweed being released and firmly cementing the actor as a star. In the latter, she starred alongside actors like Carroll Baker, Michael O’Keefe, Tom Waits, and Diane Verona under the direction of Héctor Babenco, with the film earning her an Oscar nomination.
But it was the film’s other main star that she found to be “an extraordinary being,” comparing him to the Rolling Stones’ wild frontman Mick Jagger. Of course, she can only be referring to Jack Nicholson. The actor starred as Francis Phelan, a man struggling through the Great Depression, his drinking worsened by the fact he accidentally killed his son by dropping him. Thus, he wanders around and meets with his lover, Helen, played by Streep, who is terminally ill. The movie didn’t perform well at the box office, grossing $20million less than its $27m budget, but it was largely praised by critics.
Streep thoroughly enjoyed working with Nicholson, telling Life, “He’s one of the few people that, when I’m with him, I feel surrounded by about 80 people. Ambushed! And he’s a serious artist—I think he’s a master. He’s got a voracious appetite for the work and for the quality of the work. He’s never satisfied; he’s always churning. Energy! Fire in the belly!”
She continued, “That Jack stuff, that Witches of Eastwick stuff, that great stuff! It’s wild! There’s nobody out there that far in the movies. Nobody! That’s New Jersey, baby. He’s the Mick Jagger of motion pictures. But the character in Ironweed is different from anything else Jack’s done. Jack’s tendency is to take a character and blow it through the roof.”
“But this time, he shows us a life that’s just trickling quietly out, like sand. This was a tough role for Jack. He turned 50 on this project. Most of the time, he looked 70. It was a descent into the hell we all have somewhere inside, and it cost him. But what he’s done is tremendous.”
Nicholson also earned an Oscar nomination for his performance in Ironweed, but he lost out to Michael Douglas for Wall Street. Still, the actor already had one Academy Award under his belt for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and would later win another for 1997’s As Good As It Gets.
