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“I just saw Jack a few weeks ago — it was his birthday a month ago and he’s great,” the veteran actor told PEOPLE .
Nicholson, 88, is rarely seen in public these days. While he’s absent from his usual courtside presence at Los Angeles Lakers games, he appeared on camera during SNL50: The Anniversary Special in February to celebrate 50 years of Saturday Night Live.
Devito spoke to PEOPLE about his experience working on his groundbreaking film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest ahead of its 50th anniversary re-release by Fathom Entertainment on July 13 and 16.
Devito has been close to Nicolson for 50 years
Danny DeVito, 80, told the Outlet that he stayed in regular contact with Jack Nicholson after bonding over their New Jersey roots while working on One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest . DeVito’s next film after that, before rising to TV fame in Taxi , was the Nicholson-directed 1978 comedy Goin’ South .
Devito and Nicholson also appeared together in several films, including Terms of Endearment (1983), Hoffa (1992), and Mars Attacks! (1996).
Devito shared how he and fellow young actors, including Christopher Lloyd and Brad Dourif, were impressed by Jack Nicholson while filming One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest at a state sanatorium in Portland, Oregon. Nicholson’s performance earned him his first Oscar for Best Actor, followed by two more for Terms of Endearment and As Good as It Gets .
“We’re in the presence of this guy who’s really in his moment, where he was just getting to the big time,” Devito told PEOPLE .
Danny Devito Says Jack Nicholson Remained Grounded Due to His Humble Beginnings
Despite Nicholson’s growing fame, Devito notes that the actor has remained remarkably grounded.
“There was no need for an icebreaker,” DeVito recalled. “He was immediately so embracing… he started out exactly the way everyone else did, where he couldn’t get a job. It was like he came to Hollywood and he was just going to write and direct, and then Easy Rider comes along after the [Roger] Corman stuff… so he was in our midst, and he was always so open and genuine, and we all felt that immediately.”
“Of course he was doing it because that’s how it is,” DeVito noted, “and he was also doing it because that’s what it had to be, because we had to be all joined at the hip in that movie, and we had great performances.”
Meanwhile, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest became the second film in history to win all five major Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Director Honors for Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher. Directed by Milos Forman, it remains a universally acclaimed masterpiece.
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