France Lauds Nicholson for Unforgettable Roles

France decorated actor Jack Nicholson with its top award for excellence in the arts, honoring him for unforgettable character portrayals.

Nicholson was named a Commander of Arts and Letters on Monday.

Culture Minister Jack Lang presented the 53-year-old star of films ranging from “Easy Rider” to “Batman” with the green-and-white-striped ribbon.

“Your angular eyebrows, your ironic smile, your taste for exaggeration have etched out characters who are memorable, sometimes satanic,” Lang said. “The French public and I share a great fondness for you.”

Nicholson was in France to promote his most recent movie, “The Two Jakes,” a sequel to “Chinatown.” Nicholson also starred in such films as “The Shining,” “The Last Detail” and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” for which he won the Academy Award for best actor of 1975.

In accepting the honor, Nicholson said in halting French, reading from a note, “I hope that the quality of my French will not make you take back this decoration, which I consider a great treasure.”

Attending the ceremony with Nicholson was his companion, Rebecca Broussard.