The “dreadful experiences” Jack Nicholson would rather “shrivel up and die” before revisiting
While Jack Nicholson possesses an obvious level of magnitude as a performer, it can sometimes be easy to forget that he was once a beginner in the industry and was going through the motions of figuring out what kind of actor he wanted to be.
Nicholson is now viewed as a colossal Hollywood figure, with a slate of work that has knocked every other picture out of the water in each decade that he has been working. From the minute he stepped onto the silver screen, it was clear that he would achieve great things, with a commanding presence that demands the entirety of your attention.
From his unhinged performance in The Shining to his portrayal of a dead-end drifter in Five Easy Pieces, there are no emotional nuances too grand or intimidating to play. But while he grew to be a master of his craft, there was a time when he felt like a fish out of water and just as insecure as anyone else starting out in the business, describing a period in which he hated his performances.
When embarking on anything new, there are always teething issues as you find your balance, with many actors starting on rocky territory with their first few roles. It could be an unconvincing smile or forced line of dialogue, but there are many early roles within the careers of now-great actors that naturally aren’t as great as their later projects.
But while this is an expected part of the Hollywood journey, Nicholson found this almost torturous, describing a stint of projects that he found excruciating to watch back. When discussing this, the actor recalled his learning curve of starring in films like Cry Baby Killer, Too Soon To Love and Back Door To Hell.
He said, “I didn’t wanna just be a flash in the pan. It was good for me to be a late success and to work in those Corman movies, which no one saw. I mean, I had the same standards as Laurence Olivier then, you know. If I thought people were gonna see them, I would have shrivelled up and died. But I got to make them, and no one saw them, and I learned about acting.”
Nicholson expanded on his embarrassment over his performance in these films, saying, “I had dreadful experiences looking at them, even then. You don’t see acting anymore as bad as some of the stuff we did in those pictures. It doesn’t exist on the professional level anymore. But I don’t know how anybody learns to be a movie actor unless they get a chance to see themselves and see what they’re doing wrong.”
Adding, “They had a retrospective of some of my old stuff at the Telluride festival. I hadn’t seen some of those movies since they were made. All I could see was this kind of young person, with no face on him, kind of hurling himself up on the screen in different attitudes. I don’t know what the hell else I was doing.”
While he might be beating himself up about these roles, we are always our own worst critic, and there is no doubt that he has a harsh eye when judging his work, and most audiences wouldn’t bat an eyelid. However, it is this eye for detail that has led him to climb towards the top of the Hollywood history books, with a brutal way of self-evaluation that has only enhanced his craft.
