Jack Nicholson, 89, has not appeared in a film since 2010's How Do You Know.
Actor Michael Douglas, 82, has given a rare update on his longtime friend Jack Nicholson, 89. He says the Oscar winner is "well" and has "disappeared." Douglas made the remarks on October 26 at an event in Swansea, Wales, where he was promoting his memoir One Helluva Ride.
"I would have liked to have acted with Jack," Douglas said. He added: "He's not working any more. He's well. He has disappeared. I know that." The two have never worked on screen together.
Douglas also said he still sees his friend. "I still see him, but he is fine," he said, and he described how Nicholson now spends his time:
"He is up there by his house and walking around in his slippers."
"It happens," Douglas added. "He deserves it. I understand. He is a few years older than me, but I understand."
Nicholson's last movie appearance was in 2010's How Do You Know. He has never made a formal statement announcing a retirement, and he is seldom photographed. His daughter, Lorraine, shared a snap of him on her Instagram story for his birthday in April. It shows him clapping and smiling beside Joni Mitchell. She captioned it "¡¡ 89 !!"
Variety names the Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary special on NBC in February 2025 as Nicholson's last public appearance, which he attended with Lorraine. On that show he introduced Adam Sandler. People says that before that, he was last spotted at an April 2023 Los Angeles Lakers playoff game, where he was seen hugging and shaking hands with LeBron James.
Douglas's own link to Nicholson is One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the 1975 film he produced and in which Nicholson played Randle McMurphy. It was nominated for nine Oscars and won five, including best actor for Nicholson and best picture. Douglas told The Guardian in 2017 that "Jack encouraged everyone to bring their A-game." The film earned approximately $163 million at the box office.
Douglas got the rights to Ken Kesey's novel from his father, Kirk, who had starred in a stage adaptation and meant to play the lead in the film too. Michael told him they needed a younger actor. "He didn’t say much. He understood it," Douglas told Entertainment Weekly last year.
Douglas also considered the Billy Bibbit role for himself. "There’s a part of me that says, you know, I can play the Billy Bibbit part," he recalled. "But I was sort of hesitant. I didn’t bring it up yet. I thought it was a little presumptuous for me in my first production role. Then Brad Dourif did his audition, and he killed it."
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