Jack Nicholson's Life Just Gets Sadder And Sadder

Many actors prefer to keep their hardships private, in an effort to protect their brand and the personality they present to the world. For the "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" actor, however, he hasn't been afraid of peeling back the curtain to allow others in and to see the truth about all he has experienced in his time on earth. From how he discovered his sister was his mother to the uncertainty around the identity of his real father, he chooses to be refreshingly honest about events that rocked his life and the resulting effects they have had on him.

Jack Nicholson's filmography spans more than five decades. Through movies like "Easy Rider" (1969), "Five Easy Pieces" (1970), and "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" (1975), Nicholson has long been recognized for his roles playing compelling outsiders, per Biography. From a sinister mob boss to the Joker to a writer who slowly goes insane, Nicholson has brought to life some of the most unforgettable characters — and iconic lines — in movie history. According to Business Insider, he is among a small group of actors, including Meryl Streep and Daniel-Day Lewis, to have won three Academy Awards. He is also the male actor with the most Academy Award nominations, with a whopping 12, per Insider. So, naturally, his absence from Hollywood for the last decade or so has been noticed and felt by audiences.

Jack Nicholson will go down in history as one of the greatest American actors. For seven decades, the New Jersey-born actor has dominated the silver screen, turning in bravura performances in films such as "Easy Rider," "The Shining," and "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest," among others. According to IMDb, he's won three Academy Awards and has been nominated 100 times for other industry awards, including 86 wins.

The Joker is one of the most iconic pop culture villains — not just in comic books, but also in cinema and television, with no shortage of anticipation and speculation surrounding every announcement of a new iteration of the character. The first time the Joker was given the big-budget treatment was in 1989's "Batman," helmed by Tim Burton (via IMDb), which saw Jack Nicholson play the character, beating out such major actors as Robin Williams and Willem Dafoe, according to Far Out Magazine. While Nicholson's Joker is still fondly remembered today, his version of the character was killed at the end of the film, essentially preventing him from reprising the role.

While Jack Nicholson already had a substantial film career, in 1980, one of his most famous roles was first shown on screen — Jack Torrance in "The Shining." In particular, his portrayal of the Stephen King character chopping down a bathroom door to attack his wife has become a staple of the horror genre, as well as the scene being parodied for decades. The scene actually required intervention on the part of director Stanley Kubrick, since Nicholson's experience as a volunteer firefighter allowed him to break down the prop door far quicker than expected (via Independent).