It’s been 13 years since Jack Nicholson appeared in “How Do You Know,” a dud of a romantic comedy starring Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd and Owen Wilson.
While the supporting role wasn’t the high point of Nicholson’s career — and brought the Hollywood legend to nearly 80 total acting credits — it did little to diminish a legacy that features a formidable if not unmatchable roll call of cinema classics that includes “The Departed” (2006), “The Shining” (1980), “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975) and “Chinatown” (1974), among others.
And though he never announced his retirement, the film by all accounts will be his last. One of those accounts surfaced in the “WTF With Marc Maron” podcast this week, during a wide-ranging interview with famed record producer, Sunset Strip impresario and longtime Nicholson friend Lou Adler.
Maron had nearly wrapped up the hour-plus conversation when he popped an essential question to Adler that led to a quick Nicholson nugget of his own.
“A friend of mine wanted to put him in a movie,” Maron said after asking Adler how Nicholson was doing. “And he had a conversation with him. But Jack says, ‘I don’t want to do it.’ He goes, ‘You know what I did today? I sat under a tree and I read a book.’”
“That sounds like Jack,” Adler replied, laughing with Maron.
Adler said Nicholson was “doing whatever he really wants to do.”
“He wants to be quiet,” Adler said. “He wants to eat what he wants. He wants to live the life he wants.”
Part of that life apparently means less time on the floor of the Crypto.com Arena for Lakers games.
Adler, 89, said he had also dialed back the number of games he attended with Nicholson, 86.
“I still go but I don’t go to as many,” Adler said. “I used to go to every game — Jack and I would be at every game.”
Listen to the full “WTF” episode here.
