Jack Nicholson is one of the most revered actors in Hollywood's long and illustrious history. Starring in classics, like The Shining, Chinatown, and The Postman Always Rings Twice, early on in his career, Jack set the stage for a classic on-screen demeanor that he would carry on through mega-hits like The Witches of Eastwick, Wolf and The Bucket List.

Nicholson's mere presence in A Few Good Men made the movie a smash hit. His famous line, “You can't handle the truth!” is one of the most-repeated movie lines of all time. At 72 years of age, Nicholson is still going strong.

The man we know as “Jack” was born John Joseph Nicholson on April 22, 1937 in Neptune, New Jersey. A child of the Great Depression, Nicholson's early life was typical Americana, and he got by on very little. Jack wanted to be an actor by the time he was finished with school, and shortly after he graduated at age 17, he moved out west to Los Angeles to try to break into the business.

Nicholson's true life story is much like a Hollywood tale, and many actors have tried his approach since. He was working as an office boy at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and eventually caught a break and landed a role in The Cry-Baby Killer, a 1958 horror film by Roger Corman.

Shortly after hooking up with Roger, Jack met and married his first wife, Sandra Knight, had a daughter, Jennifer, and made a few more cut-rate horror films, even taking the lead in his last effort with Corman, 1963's The Terror. Although it was a leading role, it wasn't exactly Jack's big Hollywood break. He was still hunting for that role.

As a fluke chance, actor Rip Torn stepped away from the in-production movie Easy Rider and Nicholson was asked to step in. Jack's portrayal of an alcohol-addicted lawyer in this instant cult classic earned him the credibility he was after. He was nominated for a Supporting Actor Oscar in 1970. Nicholson was now an in-demand actor and earned a role in Five Easy Pieces, where he would again earn an Oscar nod, only this time for Best Actor.

Jack was such a star in 1970, in fact, that he was asked to play Michael Corleone in The Godfather and Johnny Hooker in The Sting. He turned both roles down flat, and Al Pacino and Robert Redford filled and made their careers on those movies, respectively. Nicholson went on to earn more Oscar buzz for his roles in The Last Detail and Chinatown.

In 1974, his life started to spiral out of control. He learned that his mother was really his grandmother, and that his older sister was his mother. He also had a rocky relationship with Angelica Houston. Many say that this time in Jack's life helped him with his performance in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, where he finally won the Best Actor Oscar.

Over the years, critics claimed that Nicholson's roles were too much alike, and through the 80s and 90s, his movies were basically unheralded. Until, that is, he shot As Good As it Gets. Nicholson took home the Oscar for this role and silenced the critics. Jack continues to make movies his way, and time and again, proves that he's one of the best actors in history.