Over the past six decades, actor Jack Nicholson has delivered some outstanding performances that have earned him a reputation as a legendary Hollywood star. His ability to switch between intense dramas and dark comedies has shown the world how versatile a star he is.
One of the most iconic films in his filmography is 1992’s A Few Good Men. In the film, Nicholson plays the role of Colonel Nathan R. Jessup and one of the most memorable parts of the movie was the actor’s “You Can’t Handle the Truth!” monologue. Nicholson’s co-star once explained that the actor did that scene in just one take.
Jack Nicholson’s A Few Good Men co-star talked about his iconic scene
Actor Kiefer Sutherland, who played Lieutenant Kendrick in 1992’s A Few Good Men, once talked about his co-star, Jack Nicholson‘s iconic “You Can’t Handle the Truth!” scene. The actor explained (via GQ),
“The story that I’ll always remember from that film was two of the biggest actors in the world were in the same movie – Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson. Jack Nicholson gives a performance that’s iconic and extraordinary. But any actor will tell you that Jack Nicholson can’t give that performance if it wasn’t for the performance that Tom Cruise was giving. It works together. The only time I ever saw actors on a day off come to work was the two of them squaring off for the You Can’t Handle the Truth scene.”
In the movie, Tom Cruise played the role of Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee, a military lawyer defending two Marines accused of murdering a fellow soldier at Guantanamo Bay.
Jack Nicholson did the iconic scene in one take
Sutherland further revealed that almost everyone was present on the sets that day to watch Nicholson’s iconic performance, including actor Bruce Willis. Sutherland added (via GQ),
“I remember coming in and I sit down somewhere in the courtroom. I look over and I see Bruce Willis, who’s not even working on the movie, he’s sitting in the gallery. People were coming from everywhere. They start and the coverage is on Jack Nicholson, and they do it from top to bottom, the entire scene. It required a 1200-foot mag, back in the days when we used film, and it literally went from end to end. And he knocked it out of the park. Not a slight hesitation, not an uncomfortable moment, or trying to dip your toe into the scene to see if the water’s fine. This guy went for it. He took a full-on baseball swing and he knocked it out of the park. I’d never heard a set that quiet in my life. All the oxygen had just been sucked out of the room and no one was moving.”
The actor concluded by saying that the director wrapped up by saying that “they will not get a scene better than that.” The entire crew praised Nicholson and Cruise’s performance. The movie was a massive success, grossing over $243 million on a budget of $40 million, and was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Source: GQ
