Jack Nicholson shares unfiltered thoughts on his celebrity status

Jack Nicholson recently got candid and articulated his thoughts about his celebrity status.

The 88-year-old retired American actor and filmmaker conversed with a PEOPLE magazine reporter at a dinner in New York City to celerate 50th anniversary of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, where Anjelica Huston, whom he dated on-and-off until 1990, also joined him. Other stars, such as Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon, also attended the event.

Nicholson opened up to the outlet about his celebrity status and reflected on his time on the set of his classic 1975 comedy drama One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by saying, "A star on a movie set is like a bomb."

He added, "That bomb has got to be defused so people can approach it without fear. Because if a living reality doesn't exist between the players in a scene, the scene won't play."

The Batman star went on to admit that he thinks of his costars as "the people they're pretending to be” while shooting a scene.

"That way, if an actor makes a mistake, I don't feel it as a mistake. I see it as a quirk in that person's behavior, and I react to that quirk,” he explained.

Before concluding, it is pertinent to mention that Jack Nicholson played the role of Randle McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.