The Hollywood Legend Who Was Starstruck By Jack Nicholson

When Richard Donner was trying to cast an actor in the role of Jor-El for 1978's "Superman," he recalled traveling to Los Angeles to meet "Marlon F*****g Brando" at his house on Mulholland Drive, and noted that both he and Jack Nicholson shared "a little compound" (via The Hollywood Reporter). In retrospect, one gets the sense that nobody else other than Jack F*****g Nicholson could have shared this exclusive little pocket of Hollywood Hills real estate. There simply wasn't another actor that could match Brando's esteem.

Before Nicholson disappeared from Hollywood entirely, he was surely one of the last great movie stars — even if his final film was a star studded box office bomb. Before he secured one of the wildest deals in Hollywood history and netted himself well clear of $50 million to play the Joker in 1989's "Batman," Nicholson's legendary status was well-established. That "Batman" deal certainly made him one of the richest and most influential stars, but he'd been a major Hollywood figure ever since his breakout role in 1969's "Easy Rider," and had only became more legendary as the years went on.

Now, with no new Nicholson performances to speak of since the actor well and truly left the spotlight behind, fans are left with nothing but tales from those who got the chance to work with this living legend — like Morgan Freeman, for example, who couldn't quite believe he got the chance to star opposite Nicholson in 2007's "The Bucket List."

Remember when Jack Nicholson snuck up on Jennifer Lawrence at the Oscars and she could barely contain herself? It turns out that the veteran star has that effect on lots of people, including other veteran stars such as Morgan Freeman. Though the actor has appeared in his share of duds — just take a look at Freeman's two worst-rated films on Rotten Tomatoes — there's no denying his standing as one of the pre-eminent movie stars of the last few decades. Is he on Jack Nicholson's level? Well, just ask the man himself.

Freeman starred alongside Nicholson in Rob Reiner's comedy drama "The Bucket List" and found himself starstruck by such esteemed company. In the film, the pair play two terminally ill men who meet in a hospital room and decide to embark on an epic road trip together to complete their bucket lists — a list of things they want to do before kicking the proverbial bucket. For Freeman, however, it seems working with Nicholson was somewhat of a bucket list item in and of itself.

The actor was appearing on Dax Shepard and Monica Padman's "Armchair Expert" podcast (via CinemaBlend) when he spoke about having previously met his fellow Hollywood legend, but having never worked with him before that. As Freeman put it:

"I met him prior and told him I'd give him my left testicle. [...] He was asked if he'd do it, and he said, 'Send me the script.' I sent him the script, and he said, 'Yeah, let's do it.' So there we were, me and Jack Nicholson. So there we were, me and Jack Nicholson."

When asked if he had any self-awareness about being in a film with Nicholson, Freeman added, "No. When we were working, we were working at work. I worked. But then I go home and I go, 'Jesus f*****g Christ. Jack Nicholson.'"