Jack Nicholson’s Outrageous Line Cut From As Good As It Gets

Jack Nicholson’s reputation as one of Hollywood’s most unpredictable blokes is well-earned. Throughout his career, he’s rarely been told to pull his head in, but even he’s had moments where the line’s been drawn. Known for pushing boundaries both on and off the screen, Nicholson has a history of sneaking risqué props and lines into his films, sometimes to the shock of his co-stars.

Cheeky Antics On Set

Take his time filming with Matt Damon in The Departed. Damon was left gobsmacked when Nicholson, in the middle of a semi-improvised scene, suddenly produced a sex toy. It wasn’t a one-off, either. Director Bob Rafelson once shared that, while prepping a scene for The Postman Always Rings Twice, Nicholson approached him with a blunt request:

“Get me a dildo.”

The pattern continued in Man Trouble, where Nicholson, set to film a love scene with Ellen Barkin, made sure his prop was ready.

“I’ve got my dildo this time,”

he announced, threatening to

“kill everyone involved”

if it was cut from the final version. It stayed in, but to his dismay,

“nobody noticed the fucking thing.”

Pushing The Envelope In As Good As It Gets

Given his track record, it’s a wonder what could have been too much for As Good As It Gets. Nicholson, never shy about a bit of innuendo, recounted a moment with co-star Helen Hunt. He explained,

“She’s not, you know, blatant about it. She asked me in one spot where she had to laugh in the picture to say something offscreen when we got to that point; when we got there, I just said, ‘Tits’. And she went higher than a kite.”

Even so, the real eyebrow-raiser came when Nicholson pitched an alternative ending for the film’s final scene, where his character and Hunt’s visit a bakery.

The Line That Went Too Far

Instead of the sweet, understated finish, Nicholson wanted to inject a bit of mischief. He recalled,

“I also wanted another ending for the picture, and she agreed. I hope Jim doesn’t shoot me for saying this. When they walk to the bakery, I wanted to turn to Helen and say, ‘Warm rolls’. And she would say, ‘Wet pants’. Of course, they correctly censored me on that, but I mean, she liked it. They were looking for unpredictability, and I thought that would cover it.”

The suggestion was knocked back, and Nicholson admitted it was probably for the best. Dropping such a blatant innuendo at the end would have been a strange way to wrap things up, and even he could see it was a step too far.