Everybody loves Joker Jack. With his wolfish leer and lascivious growl, Hollywood’s longest standing rebel simply radiates illicit pleasure. Even on the cusp of his 70th birthday, with most of Hollywood’s old-school ravers dying off or settling down, John Joseph Nicholson remains a terrific advert for sex, drugs and rock’n’roll.

Witty, cultured and hugely charismatic, Nicholson has balanced powerhouse performances in critically feted art movies with a four-decade career as one of mainstream cinema’s most highly paid stars. From the late ‘50s onwards, he struggled through endless bit parts and on-set jobs, learning his craft from low-budget producer-directors like Roger Corman. After finally cracking the mainstream in Easy Rider (1969), he became the most in-demand leading man of the ‘70s, specialising in edgy outsider roles in New Hollywood classics including The Last Detail, Chinatown and One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.

For decades Nicholson has partied through sex scandals and Oscar-winning triumphs at his home on Mullholland Drive’s fabled “Bad Boy Hill”, where his neighbours included longtime pals Warren Beatty and Marlon Brando. He has also flaunted his reputation as a serial womaniser and recreational drug enthusiast, scoring high-profile romances with Anjelica Huston, Lara Flynn Boyle, Rebecca Broussard and many more. Ever the horny old devil, he recently announced his intention to bed Kate Moss. “I only take Viagra when I am with more than one woman,” he quipped.
Even now, when most of his peers are dying or retiring, Joker Jack continues to collect Oscars and critical plaudits, starring in offbeat comedies like As Good As It Gets and About Schmidt. “I do what I do for the same reason I started,” Nicholson told Uncut in 2003. “I don’t think about retirement any more, because I’m not happy if I’m not expressive. That is at the bottom of it. I like peace and quiet and all that, but in the end I have to express myself.”