Jack Nicholson is a name synonymous with brilliance when it comes to acting. From One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest to As Good As It Gets to The Shining to A Few Good Men, Nicholson has over and over delivered some immaculate acting masterclasses. And that shows in the number of awards he has been nominated for and won in his lifetime. Jack Nicholson is the most nominated male performer in the acting categories, with a total of 12 Oscar nominations and three Oscar wins.
One other thing Nicholson is infamous for is his blunt nature (often termed as rudeness). Though he is not opposed to criticism or even advice from his senior actors or his directors, there is maybe a limit to what he can endure. So when actor-director Rob Reiner, while giving some pointers to Nicholson for his soliloquy scene in A Few Good Men, and ended up giving him line readings, same to say, Nicholson did not take it too well.
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Jack Nicholson’s “Letter-Perfect” Rehearsal
A Few Good Men (1992) starring Jack Nicholson, Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon, Kevin Pollak, Kiefer Sutherland, and others, is an American legal drama movie based on Aaron Sorkin’s 1989 play of the same name.
Jack Nicholson gave a chilling rendition as Colonel Nathan R. Jessep, which is labeled as one of the very best performances of his career. During rehearsals, Nicholson had to perform a full-length soliloquy, and he gave a “letter-perfect” performance, according to co-star Kevin Pollack. Talking on The Rich Eisen Show, Pollack said,
“Jack Nicholson joins us to rehearse that soliloquy on the stand. We know what’s coming… We see Jack Nicholson act out the soliloquy on the stand. He is letter-perfect. He’s 92 percent of what we’re going to see in the film. We’re waiting for him to finish, anticipating it.”
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But that was not where it ended, and the crew had to endure a little awkwardness at the end.
A Few Good Men Had A Few Bad Days
According to Kevin Pollack, after Jack Nicholson was done with the rehearsal, the director of the movie Rob Reiner came in to praise Nicholson while also giving him some pointers. But given Reiner was an actor himself, instead of just giving simple directions, he ended up reading lines to the actor.
Now, Directors giving line directions to actors is not quite what people do. It’s just one of the many things people don’t explicitly tell you, but you know anyway. So when this happened to Nicholson, the actor was flabbergasted, and after a few moments said “I guess I’m not there yet.”
Pollack remembered how everyone ended up laughing at that and how he himself responded with,
“That was a cool way of saying, ‘Thanks. I don’t remember asking what you thought’.”
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Guess things did not escalate, given there were no behind-the-scenes issues. A Few Good Men eventually came out to a hugely positive response and was nominated for 4 Oscars that year, including Best Supporting Actor for Jack Nicholson as well as Best Picture.
A Few Good Men is available for streaming on AMC+.
