Jack Nicholson may have never officially retired from acting and Hollywood, but it's no surprise the star isn't interested in getting back out there.
The actor, 89, hasn't made a film appearance in close to two decades, with his close friend and former collaborator Michael Douglas now sharing further insight into his life off-screen.
© Getty ImagesMichael Douglas on Jack Nicholson's retirement
While Michael, 82, never got to share the screen with Jack, the pair did work together behind-the-scenes, with Michael acting as the producer for 1975's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. He was instrumental in Jack's casting as Randle McMurphy.
The film also led them both to their very first Oscars, Jack for Best Actor and Michael for Best Picture. However, during a recent appearance at the Swansea Building Society Arena while promoting his new memoir One Helluva Ride, Michael affirmed that Jack's essentially down for the count now.
"I would have liked to have acted with Jack," he said during the book talk, per The Daily Mail, confirming that while he's doing well, he's not acting anymore. "He's not working any more. He's well. He has disappeared. I know that."
"I still see him, but he is fine," the Wall Street star continued. "He is up there by his house and walking around in his slippers. It happens. He deserves it. I understand. He is a few years older than me but I understand."
© Getty ImagesJack Nicholson's film career, Oscars and stepping away
After making his film debut in the low budget 1958 film The Cry Baby Killer, Jack's profile slowly began to rise with the counterculture movement of the '60s, especially with his breakthrough role in 1969's Easy Rider.
1970's Five Easy Pieces defined his on-screen persona as the "all American anti-hero" and netted him his first Academy Award nomination. He took home a trophy just five years later for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, winning a second for 1983's Terms of Endearment, and a third for 1997's As Good As It Gets, one of only eight actors with three acting trophies.
© Getty ImagesFilms like Chinatown (1974), The Shining (1980), Prizzi's Honor (1985), Batman (1989), Something's Gotta Give (2003), and The Departed (2006) maintained his profile as a Hollywood titan.
A supporting turn in 2010's How Do You Know turned out to be his last film role to date, and despite being rumored to appear in projects like Ready Player One, Toni Erdmann and Doctor Sleep, he hasn't made a film appearance since. His last on-screen appearance was in early 2025 during the SNL50 special on NBC.
© Getty ImagesWhile Jack never explicitly made any declarations about retirement, he did say in 2013, per Vanity Fair, that he was less driven to "be out there any more," adding: "The movie business is the greatest business but I only want to do films that move people, films about emotions and people."
