Why Jack Nicholson Ate Only Cheese Sandwiches For 2 Weeks While Filming The Shining
As Halloween is creeping up and folks are dusting off their spooky gear, many eerie cult films are being revisited. Typically horror movies are either adored or despised, but even those who aren't big terror buffs can appreciate a classic such as "The Shining." Based on the novel by the one and only Stephen King, director Stanley Kubrick brought the chilling story to the screen in 1980 starring Jack Nicholson.
Nicholson may have taken scare tactic cues from Kubrick, but according to Far Out Magazine, the real reign of terror can be attributed to a dairy product. When thinking of fuel to instill fear in others, an innocent cheese sandwich isn't the first to come to mind. Although, Kubrick had a different, more savage thought in mind when he learned of Nicholson's distaste of cheese sandwiches.
Cheese sandwiches are seen as a tasty, possibly nostalgic snack for many, but to Nicholson, they are the enemy. The critically acclaimed actor, who had won an Oscar for Best Actor not long before being on the set of "The Shining," made one thing clear from the get-go — he does not like cheese sandwiches. Far Out Magazine revealed that Kubrick took this knowledge and came up with a devilish idea to prompt disgust from Nicholson's character. In hopes to capture the slow breakdown of the protagonist-turned-antagonist Jack Torrance, Kubrick force-fed Nicholson cheese sandwiches on the regular for two weeks during filming.
Jack Nicholson went the extra mile for his unhinged role
This wasn't the first time Stanley Kubrick pushed actors off-set. When directing "A Clockwork Orange," he insisted Malcolm McDowell watch unmerciful movies to brace him for his twisted character, Alex DeLarge. The director has been referred to as domineering and "too brutal," according to The Things, but those qualities may have helped him become such a successful driving force in cinema. Unfortunately, this didn't work in Jack Nicholson's favor when it came to his diet on set.
As much as Nicholson disliked the process, he was open to Kubrick's unconventional ideas. The actor's handful of critically acclaimed roles tell us he's a dedicated performer who's inclined to go the extra mile for any part. During the filming of "The Shining," he spent most of his nights sleeping in his car, leaving him feeling disheveled and exhausted each day, which only abetted the mania in his character, Jack. Cinema Blend shares that the actor was staying rather far from the set, making it difficult to trek the distance after a long day of shooting. Chances are Nicholson could have arranged more comfortable sleeping arrangements, but Kubrick must have appreciated the outcome.