Jack Nicholson Quotes

I’m responsible only for what I say, not for what you understand.

You only lie to two people in your life: your girlfriend and the police.

The minute you’re not learning I believe you’re dead.

What’s the difference between a pickpocket and a peeping tom? A pickpocket snatches watches.

The less people know, the more they yell.

You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.

My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch.

The older you get, the more you realize that no one has a clue what they’re doing. Everyone’s just winging it. Some people just do it more confidently.

The only thing worse than a liar is a liar that’s also a hypocrite!

The minute that you’re not learning I believe you’re dead.

I hate giving advice, because people won’t take it.

I think you’re always better off if you can identify and deal with your limitations. Knowing what you can’t do is more important than knowing what you can.

I don’t need a psychiatrist to prod into my personal life and make me tell them all my secrets, I have my friends for that.

Cindy [Cindy Williams] and I knew each other for a long time.

Beer, it’s the best damn drink in the world.

The truth? I can’t handle the truth!

What you lack in talent, you make up with effort.

I hate it when people are rude, but I love it when people are anti-social.

I’m from a different era, a different repair.

No matter what you have to do, keep smiling and putting on a happy face.

I am the devil, and I’m here to do the devil’s work.

I never really thought of myself as wicked. I’ve often thought I’m kind of obvious-nasty.

Wishing for things doesn’t make them happen.

I like that Jack Nicholson style, where you do a lot more acting than you have to do.

I just did Batman Forever, and I had a great time doing it. It was a really great opportunity for me.

I am who I am.

You make your own luck, Gig. You know what makes a good loser? Practice.

My motto is: more good times.

I find television a bit like the invention of gunpowder as far as acting is concerned. It blew the old style of acting to pieces.

Always you should worry about being on top. It’s harder staying there.

I never react to my critics. Critics are frequently wrong. They had four mock wooden legs hanging on their theatre doors.

The minute I get into a hotel room, I scatter my things everywhere. It’s like a bomb hit the place. But the first thing I do is take off my shoes. That’s a very liberating exercise.

I’ll tell you one thing: Don’t ever give anybody your best advice, because they’re not going to follow it.

If men are honest, everything they do and everywhere they go is for a chance to see women.

Women: You can’t live with them, and you can’t get them to dress up in a skimpy little Nazi costume and beat you with a warm squash or something.

You gotta love those crazy kids.

I think we all lead two lives. The life we learn with and the life we live after that.

You must play as if there’s no chance of running this same mime again in your lifetime.

I don’t think I’ve mastered anything. I’m still wrestling with the same frustrations, the same issues, the same problems as I always did. That’s what life is like.

If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament.

I can learn anything faster than anyone who tries to teach me.

I’ve always said that making a film is the cheapest therapy you can get.

I don’t believe in overanxious, feverish conduct.

I was lucky enough to have the ability to black out pain at an early age.

Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.

Self-pity is a dead-end road. You make the choice to drive down it. It’s up to you to decide to stay parked there or to turn around and drive out.

The screen is a magic medium. It has such power that it can retain interest as it conveys emotions and moods that no other art form can hope to tackle.

I’m not intimidated by lead roles. I’m better in them. I don’t feel pressure. I feel released at times like that. That’s what I’m born to do.

I’m Irish, so I’m used to odd stews. I can take it. Just throw a lot of carrots and onions in there and I’ll call it dinner.

I have a love interest in every one of my films: a gun.