It’s not controversial to say Jack Nicholson is a fantastic talent. From the best Jack Nicholson movies like The Shining to the iconic drama movies he starred in, he’s one of the best actors of all time.
But aside from scaring the bejeezus out of us in one of the best horror movies ever made, he’s had a long career making smaller character pieces, too.
That includes Drive, He Said, a 1971 film Nicholson directed and ended up in a fistfight over, and with none other than the secretary of the BBFC at the time, John Trevelyan.
“I had a stand-up, knockdown fight with your Trevelyan over censorship of the film, because he wanted to cut just one line, which is when at the climax of a lovemaking scene between Hector and the Karen Black character she says ‘I’m coming’.” he told BFI.
“I believe he thought I was crazy to argue over, in his view, such a small capitulation, but for me, this line is the crystallization of what the whole film is about: the battles of the characters, and their varying abilities, to release this sexual power. Olive is the freest of the characters.”
He continued explaining why the scene was so important, “Gabriel goes crazy under the stress of his vision. Hector is not too intelligent, and his natural drive is toward conformity; he has difficulty making the necessary connections between his physical abilities and his place in society.”
It seems like it was a good fight to pick. For more great character drama, check out the best movies of all time or the new movies coming soon. You can also see where he placed in our the best Joker actors ranked list.