“He was spellbinding”: the powerful actor who annihilated Jack Nicholson
As one of the greatest actors in cinema history, hearing Jack Nicholson speak so highly of a performer he believes blew him so far out of the water in terms of natural ability that it was borderline embarrassing is about as high as praise can possibly get.
After all, this is the guy who won three Academy Awards from 12 nominations between 1970 and 2003, was held up as arguably the finest talent in a generation that also gave rise to the Robert De Niros and Al Pacinos of the world, and stepped away from the business with his reputation more than solidified as a legend of the silver screen.
And yet, ask any veteran thespian if there’s anyone they couldn’t even consider holding a candle to, then there’s an exceedingly high probability the answer will be Marlon Brando. That’s the impact and influence he had over the profession at large, with Nicholson finding himself in the fortunate position of being able to call the legendary star not only a colleague and peer but a neighbour and friend.
Admitting to Rolling Stone that “this man has been my idol all of my professional life” shortly after Brando’s death, Nicholson’s first experience of the style that would change acting forever came when he was still in high school. When he saw On the Waterfront for the first time, he was blown away. “You just couldn’t take your eyes off the guy,” he said. “He was spellbinding.”
The two eventually shared the screen in 1976 western The Missouri Breaks, which left Nicholson – already a proven star by this point – feeling woefully out of his depth. “Somewhere deep in my subconscious was always this idea; ‘One day you’re going to be working with Marlon Brando, and you better be ready, Jack.’” His filmography indicated that he was, but he ended up making a huge mistake.
Watching Brando’s dailies was an eye-opener for Nicholson, if only because it cursed him with the knowledge that he’d never be able to match up, in his own eyes at least. “Each take was an art film in itself,” he recalled. “I sat there stunned by the variety, the depth, the amount of silent articulation of what a scene meant. It was all there. It was one of the wildest things I ever put my eyes on.”
Conceding that he was “totally annihilated by him” on a performative level, Nicholson’s confidence was so shaken that director Arthur Penn “really had to nurse me back to health just to get me to continue on with the picture.” That’s the power Brando held over other actors, though, with somebody as gifted as Nicholson left devastated after doing something as seemingly innocuous as watching him work.