Jack Nicholson is a highly celebrated actor and filmmaker who has enjoyed a prolific career
in Hollywood spanning more than half a century.
Sadly, in recent years he has largely been absent from the public eye.
Recent reports have indicated that the star's rapidly declining health is likely to blame.
Nicholson holds the honor of being the most nominated male actor in the history of the
Academy Awards, having received a whopping 12 Oscar nods.
Of those nominations, he's won three times, earning him an elite seat at an exclusive
club that includes the likes of Daniel Day-Lewis and Meryl Streep.
It's safe to say that Jack will go down in history as being one of the greatest Hollywood
actors of his era.
Through appearances in films such as 1969s Easy Rider, the 1970s Five Easy Pieces, and
1975s One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Nicholson quickly became one of the entertainment industry's
most in-demand stars.
Throughout his storied career, Nicholson has played all sorts of dynamic roles – from
a cutthroat mob boss to the Joker to a writer who slipped deeper and deeper into the terrifying
realm of insanity.
Nicholson has brought to the screen some of the most memorable and iconic characters in
cinema history while uttering a few of the most unforgettable and quotable lines.
So, with a resume like that, it's only natural that Jack's absence from Hollywood in the
last decade has been something that both audiences and his fellow actors have noticed.
Although he's never officially announced his retirement, Nicholson hasn't appeared in a
movie since 2010 – and despite a few false starts that never ended up going anywhere,
there seems to be no indication that he will be making a return to the big screen anytime
soon.
Keep watching to find out the heartbreaking reason why Jack Nicholson hasn't been around
much in recent years.
His Last Film Was A Major Flop
The lackluster rom-com 'How Do You Know' hit theaters in 2010.
The flick featured some seriously big names, including Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon,
Paul Rudd, and of course Jack Nicholson.
While all of these stars are known for typically appearing in blockbusters, this film ended
up being both a critical and commercial failure.
Against its massive $120 million budget, the movie only made back a little over a third
of that.
And as far as reviews went, How Do You Know was panned by critics virtually everywhere.
Four years after its release, the Los Angeles Times named How Do You Know one of the costliest
box office failures of all time.
Making reference to one of Nicholson's most iconic lines in Kubrick's 'The Shining', famed
film critic Roger Ebert published a scathing review of the film with the title 'Jack made
a dull boy'.
It's quite possible that Nicholson decided that he didn't want to further taint his otherwise
glowing legacy by agreeing to appear in more subpar film roles in the future, or maybe
the rumors of his declining health are true and that's why he's been so reclusive.
Either way, How Do You Know is the last time that we've seen him in a major motion picture.
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He’s Turned Down Several Film Roles In The Last 12 Years
Despite appearing in a few duds, Nicholson has starred in numerous highly-regarded and
commercially successful films throughout his career, including 1997s As Good As It Gets,
2002s About Schmidt, and 2006s The Departed.
In recent years, however, Jack has passed on a few film roles that ended up going to
other veteran actors.
A few of these films went on to be enormously successful.
Following the success of About Schmidt, director Alexander Payne offered Nicholson the lead
in his 2013 film Nebraska.
For some unknown reason, however, Nicholson ended up declining Payne’s offer.
The lead role instead went to actor Bruce Dern, who went on to be nominated for an Academy
Award for Best Actor for his performance.
It's further been reported that Nicholson turned down a role in the Theodore Melfi film
St. Vincent'.
It was said that Jack was Melfi's first choice for the film's lead, but after he passed on
it, the role instead went to Bill Murray.
Once again, Murray was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy
for his performance in that flick.
While it remains unclear why Nicholson turned down these opportunities, especially since
they were both backed by filmmakers who had glowing reputations for their previous works,
the decision likely had less to do with the roles themselves and more with Nicholson’s
declining health and lack of desire to keep acting.
Nicholson Almost Starred In A Remake Of A European Comedy
In 2017, Variety ran a story indicating that Nicholson was gearing up to star in an English-language
remake of a 2016 German movie entitled 'Toni Erdmann'.
The original film was about a father who was trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
Nicholson was the name that was most closely associated with the film, but other reports
indicated that Bill Murray was also interested in the lead role.
When the news of the film first broke, actress Kristen Wiig was announced to co-star in the
film playing Nicholson's daughter.
Paramount Pictures was stated to be making the film, and Will Ferrell and Adam McKay,
in addition to Wiig, were listed as its producers.
Later it was confirmed that Jenni Konner and Lena Dunham were attached to the film as its
writers.
18 months after the movie was announced, Jack Nicholson dropped out of the project for unknown
reasons.
While Ferrell, McKay, and Wiig remain attached to the film, Konner and Dunham have moved
on to other projects.
As of 2022, “Toni Erdmann” remains in development.
With Age Jack’s Attitude Towards Hollywood Has Changed
In a 2013 interview with The Sun, Jack admitted that as he’s grown older, some of the allure
of Hollywood has faded.
He told the outlet that he doesn’t want to keep working until the day he dies and
that that was never what he wanted when he first started acting.
Later in that interview, Jack revealed that there has always been a part of him that never
liked being in Hollywood and that he merely learned how to function in the environment
in order to get his work done.
Nicholson added that taking on new film roles was a source of great stress for him.
He explained that whenever he signs on to a role, he often thinks about other actors
that would be better suited for it and that he often worries about what he's going to
do if he can't handle it.
Jack then discussed how the movie landscape had changed over the years.
While he’s always been committed to doing films about emotions that move people, he
expressed that he was worried that younger audiences these days no longer want to be
moved.
A Source Close To Jack Says His Health Is Rapidly Failing
Last year the UK news outlet Express ran an eye-opening story that shed a little bit of
light on why we haven't seen Jack Nicholson in years.
According to that article, a source close to Nicholson told gossip celebrity news website
Radar that the star was living out the remainder of his 'sad last days' at his LA mansion.
Although there has been no confirmation from either Nicholson or his spokespeople that
his health is failing, that same source told Radar that Nicholson no longer leaves his
house and that his son and daughter have taken over caring for his responsibilities.
The source went on to explain that the Mulholland Drive community that Nicholson is a part of
is rather close-knit and that they have been worried about him for quite some time.
The source went into specifics by stating that while physically Nicholson is doing just
fine, it's his mind that is fading.
In an unrelated story run by Closer weekly following the death of Kobe Bryant, the outlet
published a quote by Nicholson expressing his grief over the loss of the famed NBA star.
The article went on to say that Nicholson is currently 'making up for lost time' by
spending time with his friends and family while doing his best to live out the remainder
of his life to the fullest.
Nicholson’s Kids Frequently Visit Him
Jack's one and only marriage to actress Sandra Knight only lasted six years.
For the next couple of decades, the list of women that he dated reads like a "who's who"
of Hollywood's hottest actresses and socialites.
Nicholson has fathered six children with five different women.
Today, his daughter Jennifer is in her late fifties.
She was the only child that he fathered with his ex-wife Sandra Knight.
Nicholson’s had two children, Lorraine and Ray, with his ex Rebecca Broussard.
These three kids all reportedly make frequent visits to Jack’s LA home.
His other three children, Caleb, Honey, and Tessa, he’s far less close to and rarely
gets a chance to see.
When his kids were younger, Jack was hardly ever around.
Reportedly this is one of his biggest regrets in life.
So, it makes sense that as he gets up there in age, he would make it a point to prioritize
family.
After all, it’s better late than never.
It also makes a lot of sense that if his mental faculties are indeed deteriorating as quickly
as that unnamed source claims, Jack's kids would be more willing to go out of their way
to try and spend some time with them.
Because with things like dementia, you can never get back what's lost.
And once someone gets to the point that they can no longer take care of themselves on their
own, sometimes only family is capable of knowing precisely what they need when they need it.
So, Jack very well could be in a situation where he sees the proverbial writing on the
wall.
Knowing that his time is limited, he just might be attempting to set things right while
he still can.
It's sad that we haven't seen Jack Nicholson in a film in the last decade.
Obviously, he is one of the greats, but it's worrisome that reports are beginning to indicate
that his time here on this planet might be coming to a close.
Do you think that Jack Nicholson will make a comeback and do one last film or do you
think that his declining health has forced him into retirement permanently?
Let us know in the comments.
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