Jack Nicholson's 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' Is His Best Performance

Able to combine intensity with charisma, few actors can compare to Jack Nicholson. An American icon, Nicholson defined a flawed antihero: unpredictable, challenging social norms, and still capturing the charm of the "everyman." Nicholson broke out in a big way in 1969's Easy Rider, after a decade of working in supporting roles in TV and film. He then appeared in such landmark films as Five Easy Pieces, Chinatown, The Shining, and Batman throughout the 1970s and 1980s.