The one actor John Huston called the best ever: “His dexterity is astounding, unparalleled”

Posted On February 10, 2025February 10, 2025

The Huston family is one of cinema’s greatest dynasties. Patriarch Walter Huston was an early star of ‘talkies’ in the 1920s and 30s, famously playing Abraham Lincoln in a 1930 biopic. His grandchildren include Anjelica, star of everything from The Addams Family to multiple Wes Andersoon projects, Danny, a prolific character actor, and Tony, an Oscar-nominated writer. Tony’s son Jack is also an actor, appearing in the likes of Boardwalk Empire, Fargo, and the 2016 Ben-Hur remake. Then there’s the missing link – the great actor and filmmaker John Huston.

Not only was he responsible for some timeless classics – The Maltese Falcon, The African Queen, Annie – but he also gave some serious leg-ups to his family members. He directed his father in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, which won Walter an Oscar for ‘Best Supporting Actor’. Almost 40 years later, his film Prizzi’s Honor netted daughter Anjelica the same award in the ‘Actress’ category. Combine this with the Oscars he won for Sierra Madre – ‘Best Director’ and ‘Best Screenplay’ – and that’s three generations of big winners.

The aforementioned Prizzi’s Honor also starred Jack Nicholson, who famously had an on-off relationship with Anjelica Huston for many years. Her father might not have appreciated his lack of commitment, but he couldn’t fault his potential son-in-law’s acting ability.

“Jack’s a virtuoso,” the legendary director told The Chicago Tribune. “He can do the acting scales on one hand. His dexterity is astounding, unparalleled. If you want to see it in Prizzi’s Honor, look at the scene between him and Kathleen Turner where all the clothes are strewn about. Jack comes out of the bathroom and she begins telling him one revelation after another about who she is and what she has been hired to do. And the changes that occur on his face are extraordinary. The camera is an X-ray, and I think audiences can see into Jack`s soul. He has a special gift.”

Nicholson and Turner play two mob assassins who are hired to take the other out. The problem is, they’re in love with each other. Think a more mafia-centric version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The two leads have electric chemistry together, grounding what could have easily been an utterly outlandish premise. It’s a really fun watch, funny with a hint of tragedy to keep you on your toes. The critics agreed, as it landed seven other Oscar nods alongside Anjelica’s win for ‘Best Supporting Actress’. Nicholson and Turner both won Golden Globes for their respective performances.

Whilst this was the only time Huston got to direct Nicholson, the two did act together in Roman Polanski’s Chinatown. Jack had just started seeing Anjelica at this point, and the terror he felt around her father helped inspire his iconic performance. Huston died in 1987 at the age of 81, making Prizzi’s Honor the last of his films to be released during his lifetime.

Huston wasn’t the only director to point out how natural Nicholson felt on camera, but his personal relationship with him granted additional insight into the mind of one of the greatest actors of the 20th Century. Though Nicholson never officially joined the family, he was effectively a Huston for the longest time, and he had the acting chops to fit right in with the rest of them.

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