8. Jack Nicholson

Trying to lump Jack Nicholson into one particular genre or category is as insane as some of the characters he has brought to life in an astonishing career spanning over 50 years. Undoubtedly as unique as he is talented, Nicholson’s filmography is littered with bonafide classics like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Chinatown, Five Easy Pieces, The Last Detail, Easy Rider, and his hugely unsettling performance as Jack Torrance in Stanley Kubrick’s horror masterpiece, The Shining.

Even after he helped shape the New Hollywood scene of the late ’60s through to the ’80s, his later roles in Terms of Endearment, As Good As It Gets and The Departed only cemented him as one of cinema’s biggest stars. When it comes to his influence, Nicholson’s is second to none as countless younger actors who followed, rightfully considered to be among history’s best.