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Jack Nicholson is a force of nature. From his acting skills to on-screen and off-screen charisma to his facial expressions, the man is a true example of a true actor. In 1992, Jack Nicholson was a part of the star-studded cast ofA Few Good Men,joined by Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon, and more. Even the director, Rob Reiner, is an acting connoisseur himself having been in projects likeAll in the FamilyandThe Wolf of Wall Street.
Thus, when all these stars assembled under the same sky, things were bound to get a bit out of hand sometimes. Last year, actor Kevin Pollack recalled an anecdote from the set ofA Few Good Menbetween Jack Nicholson and Rob Reiner when the latter offered to do a line reading for the former.
Rob Reiner Extends His Help to Jack Nicholson
Line readings are not always welcome by actors, especially if you are someone ofJack Nicholson’s caliber.Kevin Pollack, who played the role of Lieutenant Sam Weinberg inA Few Good Men,recalled a BTS moment from the set whereRob Reinerdecided to give Nicholson a few pointers on how to deliver a scene.
Mark Wahlberg: ‘He gave me a look that nobody else gave me’ on Jack Nicholson Shutting Him Down After Just 1 Scene
The scene in question is the one whereTom Cruise’s Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee is questioning Nicholson’s Colonel Nathan R. Jessup in the courtroom – the scene that gave the entertainment industry one of its most iconic lines,“You can’t handle the truth!”
After Nicholson’s rehearsed for his scene, Reiner decided to help him out a bit and he did so by doing a line reading in front of him. Pollack recalled onThe Rich Eisen Show,
Most actors hate line readings because, ‘Woah, are you saying not like that. That I should do it like you’re doing it?’ It’s an unspoken agreement that directors should not give line readings.
However, since Reiner himself is a great actor, he went ahead and did it anyway. He got so“caught up in the emotion”while doing the line reading that he ended up performing almost the entire soliloquy.
Pollack added,
Jack Nicholson joins us to rehearse that soliloquy on the stand. We know what’s coming…we see Jack Nicholson act out the soliloquy on the stand. He is letter-perfect. He’s 92 per cent of what we’re going to see in the film. We’re waiting for him to finish, anticipating it.
After he wrapped up his performance, Reiner entered the chat. In Pollack’s words,“Rob is giving line readings to Jack, and he finishes acting it out because he can’t stop.”Nicholson could do nothing but stare at the director as he got lost in the scene.
Jack Nicholson’s Reaction to the Director’s Help
As Reiner was delivering the scene in front of the cast and crew, Pollack recalled that Nicholson couldn’t do anything but stare at the director and wait for him to wrap things up.
He stated,“Rob ends up doing the whole second half of the soliloquy, and Jack’s just staring at him the whole time.”It’s possible that since Nicholson wasn’t aware of Reiner’s methods, the entire situation could have rubbed him the wrong way.
Jack Nicholson on His Secret to Nailing the Greatest Role of His Life With a Sly Trick: ‘It was one, long unsuccessful seduction’
Luckily, if Nicholson was feeling a bit pissed off, he did a great job not showing it on his face. After Reiner finished his bit, Nicholson simply stated,“I guess I’m not there yet”and everyone on set erupted into laughter. Pollack added,“That was a cool way of saying, ‘Thanks. I don’t remember asking what you thought.’”Well, that’s Nicholson for you.
The film was obviously well-received by the critics and made$243 millionat the box office. It even got itself four Academy Awards nominations including Best Supporting Actor for Nicholson.
A Few Good Menis available to watch on AMC+ (via Prime Video).
Mishkaat Khan
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2257
A connoisseur of all things horror, fantasy, and the occasional chick flick, Mishkaat has been penning pieces for FandomWire since 2022. She started off as an intern and has worked her way up to a Senior Writer with over 2000 articles to her name.Outside of entertainment, she has also written well-researched medical content as a freelance writer and has experience in social media management.When not writing, you’re able to find her relaxing with a romance novel and a tall glass of iced coffee in her hand or watching re-runs of ‘Supernatural’ and ‘The Office.’
