Jack Nicholson Interview

JACK THE LAD

Nicholson is in town to promote Something's Gotta Give, a romantic comedy in which he co-stars with Diane Keaton. The film has taken $100m at the US Box Office since it opened in December and it crowns director Nancy Meyers as queen of the romantic comedy, following on from her 2002 success with What Women Want. The film is a May to December romance which sees Jack's character trading in his usual younger model (in this case Amanda Peet) for her mother, the more mature if slightly dotty Diane Keaton.

With his trademark sunglasses in place and his all-too-familiar voice, Jack immediately wins over everyone in the room. Despite rumours that he and Keaton had more than an on-set friendship, he quickly dispels any notion of romance. "In fact", he says, "I haven't actually seen that much if Diane in twenty years since we starred in Reds together." Keaton won a Golden Globe for her turn in the film and is now nominated at the Oscars, so is Jack disappointed at not being nominated this year? "Absolutely not. What Diane said at the Globes was true - there are fewer and fewer good roles for older actresses so I'm thrilled for her and wish her all the best."

Speaking of Oscars, is there any truth to the rumour that he actively campaigned for Adrien Brody to win for The Pianist last year, despite being in the running himself? Nicholson laughs and quickly scotches the idea. "I learned a long time ago in Hollywood that the only person I should vote for is myself."

With some of the filming of Something's Gotta Give interrupted during its Parisian shoot by a union strike, Jack infamously delivered a speech to the strikers. "Unfortunately for some reason I decided to do it in French and it was met by complete silence. It was either out of respect or down to the fact that they didn't understand me".

Humorous throughout, the veteran star still delivers one-liners with a natural ease. Having been a regular in the gossip columns for years about his lovelife, has the film cemented his views on dating younger women? The 66-year-old chuckles. "Well, a younger woman is a type, but not necessarily a type for me. And what is a younger woman? I mean, I'm pretty old. Almost everyone is younger."