10) Jack Nicholson In Broadcast News
Who better to play a legendary and charismatic news anchor of immense reputation than Jack Nicholson? Broadcast News, made at a time when Nicholson was one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, has three (then) young stars as its leads – William Hurt, Holly Hunter and Albert Brooks – all of whom Nicholson knew he threatened to overshadow were he included in the marketing.
Nicholson, a friend of Broadcast News director James L. Brooks, made the movie for no money and went un-billed as a favor. He’s only in the film for a few minutes, mostly just reading news items, but he casts a huge shadow over the movie. We get a sense of his cold, wolfish charisma just from his few scenes, and he delivers the biggest laugh when he chooses to forego cutting his multi-million dollar salary and save co-workers from losing their jobs.