1 Unscripted Jack Nicholson Scene Became the Highlight of Leonardo DiCaprio’s Career in Mark Wahlberg Film
Jack Nicholson is undoubtedly one of the greatest actors of all time. Having started his career as an actor in 1955, he has given some of the best performances of all time. Nicholson has won 3 Academy Awards and has 12 nominations in total, which makes him the most-nominated male actor in the Academy’s history.
Jack Nicholson has worked with some of the best actors and directors in the industry in his career, which has spanned over five decades. One of these movies was Martin Scorsese’s 2006 crime thriller The Departed, which was quite a star-studded affair with prominent actors like Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, and Leonardo DiCaprio in major roles in the film. DiCaprio once said that this movie gave him one of his most memorable moments as an actor, thanks to Nicholson.
Leonardo DiCaprio on The Departed Scene that Became the Highlight of His Career
The Departed centers on an undercover cop Billy Costigan(Leonardo DiCaprio), who has become a part of a crime syndicate based in South Boston. At the same time, the mafia has also sent a mole named Collin Sullivan (Matt Damon) into the Massachusetts State Police Force’s Special Investigation Unit. Both characters try to keep their covers together while also being aware of each other’s existence.
Jack Nicholson, who plays the character of the mafia Francis Costello in the movie, made a lot of improvisations to his scenes and it was one of these scenes that left an indelible mark on Leonardo DiCaprio’s career as an actor. The latter said as much during a press conference for the movie (via LadBible).
“It was one of the table scenes. It was one of the most memorable moments of my life as far as being an actor is concerned. I remember coming into the scene one way and then I came in the next day and the prop guy told me, ‘Well, be careful he’s got a fire extinguisher, a gun, some matches, and a bottle of whiskey.’”
While there was assurance that Nicholson wouldn’t hurt DiCaprio, there was no such guarantee for the latter’s character. The Shining star pulling a gun out of nowhere in the aforementioned scene was unscripted and this is what makes the shock on Billy’s face so genuine.
Jack Nicholson on How He Got A Gun on Set
Martin Scorsese let Nicholson improvise his scenes as much as he wanted and everyone else was on board with that. Some of the improvisations that the Terms of Endearment star suggested were way too queer to be included in the movie, but some of the other ones have played a great role in the movie’s massive success.
During an interview with Variety, Jack Nicholson revealed how he managed to get a gun on the set for an unscripted scene, saying:
“There’s a scene in a bar where I’m scaring the s*** out of Leo’s character with a gun. There wasn’t any gun in the script … I asked the prop master to hide a gun on the set, and to bring a fire extinguisher as well … the look on [the prop master’s] face when I asked for that fire extinguisher was priceless.”
Thankfully, no Leonardo DiCaprios were harmed during the making of the film, and the fire extinguisher never made an appearance either.
