Fred was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for The Towering Inferno and Jack, who once said he got into the business “just to see movie stars”, was trying to make small talk. “I told him we had on the same kind of tux” he said of this seminal night in a 2008 interview with USA Today. But when Mr. Astaire’s Oscar hopes were quashed, he promptly put on his sunglasses and Jack followed suit. This seemingly simple gesture not only signalled an association with one of the great performers of our time, an omen of Jack’s career to come, it would also become a staple of his style.

These days, Jack has different reasons for sporting his shades. Apart from the added protection they give his eyes from the neon strength of his own smile they also shield him from the flash-bulbs of the paparazzi that follow him everywhere he goes, not to mention helping to compound the air of cool irreverence that hangs about him like an invisible mist. You know the kind of cool air you only find at high altitudes, Jack, is after all still at the peak of his career.

The sunglasses, the smile, the swagger and the sarcasm, that’s Jack, in a box. But unlike a mechanised jester this veteran Hollywood actor didn’t just burst onto the scene in a flurry of surprise, colour and noise. Nicholson’s breakthrough came at the relatively ripe age of 32 with Easy Rider (1969) after eleven years of trying to make a name for himself. And since then he’s done more than just make a name for himself, he’s established himself as The Jack of The Trade.

With an impressive resume of characters ranging from a nosey, disillusioned detective in Chinatown (1974), an anti-authoritarian mental hospital patient in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) and an obsessive womaniser in Something’s Gotta Give (2003), three Oscars and 12 Academy Award nominations under his belt he has proved his appeal beyond his idiosyncratic Jack-isms as a fully-fledged acting genius.

With over 38 years of experience in the business it seems difficult to divorce the off-screen image of the now 70-year-old Jack Nicholson from the plethora of memorable characters he has played on-screen. There is a certain measure of continuity between all these characters, a testimony to Jack’s technique as an actor. “People talk about stretching yourself. A lot of the time stretching leads to overacting. You always start from yourself,” he said recently in an interview with the Sunday Independent in his famous wizened drawl.

And like the hill which sports those famous letters, Jack’s own personal life has had its ups and downs. When he was well into his 30’s this New Jersey born actor discovered from a journalist that his “mother” was actually his grandmother, and his “sister” was his real mother. By the time he learned the truth, both of his “mothers” had passed away. And with no clue who his real father was, there was little closure to be had for Nicholson. Instead he sought his therapy on-screen.

Another performer who sought acting as a means to channel personal pain is Morgan Freeman. With a past punctuated with painful moments, from an upbringing in the segregated south, to an alcoholic father and a failed first marriage, Freeman like Nicholson overcame these personal trials, to forge a successful and enduring career in one of the most fickle industries around. Freeman also displayed a similar resilience to Nicholson, sticking around until he was 50 before he came to widespread attention with an Oscar nomination for Street Smart.  

It seems strange that two of the film industry’s most enduring and talented personalities, who not only share star-status, similar late start careers and past turmoil, have never worked together until recently. Nicholson and Freeman came together for the first time on-screen for The Bucket List, a film about two terminally ill cancer patients who strive to use their last moments to fulfil a list of their latent dreams before they ‘kick the bucket’.

The Bucket List not only showcases the remarkable talent of both these veteran actors, it also throws into relief all that Nicholson and Freeman have achieved. As the characters strive to fulfil their dreams, you are left to ponder what else two such incredibly accomplished actors could have left to accomplish themselves. The Bucket List begs the question: what would Jack or Morgan have on their own personal to-do before they die lists?

The director of The Bucket List, Rob Reiner recounts a seminal moment on set to the Irish Independent: “Morgan looks him [Nicholson] straight in the eye and says: ‘This has been a dream come true for me,’ and Jack looked back and said: ‘Likewise’ . And they hugged each other.” Tick. They can at least cross that one off.