Jack Nicholson 'retires from acting due to memory loss'

Actor apparently refusing scripts as sources say he 'can no longer remember the lines' – but he will remain a public figure 

Ben Child
The Guardian
Thursday 5 September 2013 11.44 BST

Reports claim that Jack Nicholson has retired from acting due to memory loss.Radar Online and Star Magazine say the 76-year-old, three-time Oscar-winner is no longer considering scripts, though he will continue to play an active role in public life.

"There is a simple reason behind his decision – it's memory loss," a source told Radar. "Quite frankly, at 76, Jack has memory issues and can no longer remember the lines being asked of him."

Actor Jack Nicholson poses for a portrait in Beverly Hills, Calif.
on Sunday, Dec. 9, 2007.
(AP Photo/Matt Sayles) Photograph: Matt Sayles/AP

Nicholson has not been seen on the big screen since 2010, when he played the father of a business executive facing jail over alleged corporate malfeasance in the Reese Witherspoon and Paul Rudd romantic comedy drama How Do You Know. His only other acting role since turning 70 has been 2007's The Bucket List, and he currently has no films on his slate.

As well as best actor Oscars for 1975's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, 1998's As Good As It Gets and the best supporting actor prize for 1984's Terms of Endearment, Nicholson holds the record for the highest number of Oscar nominations for a male actor: 12. According to US reports, he will continue to appear at the annual awards ceremony if invited as a guest presenter of prizes, as he did earlier this year when handing over the best picture gong with Michelle Obama, and will likely be courtside on a regular basis to watch his beloved LA Lakers basketball team.

"Jack has no intention of retiring from the limelight," Radar's source said. "He's not retiring from public life, at all. He just doesn't want a tribute. He's happy to tacitly join the retirees' club, like Sean Connery."

However NBC anchor Maria Shriver has contradicted suggestions that Nicholson is to retire, according to E! Online, asserting he is "not suffering from any memory-related illness or dementia".

Nicholson reportedly turned down the chance to play an alcoholic father travelling with his son to pick up a million-dollar lottery prize in Alexander Payne's Nebraska. The role won 77-year-old Bruce Dern the best actor prize at this year's Cannes film festival. Nicholson was also due to star alongside Clint Eastwood and Warren Beatty as retired superheroes in Matthew Vaughn's The Golden Age. However, the proposed film has yet to see the light of day.

Neither Nicholson nor his representatives have so far made any public comment on the reports of his retirement.

THE GUARDIAN