What Happened When Kevin Pollak’s Mom Met Jack Nicholson on ‘A Few Good Men’ Set

Every time Kevin Pollak comes on the show, the room wants Jack Nicholson stories. This time Pollak brought one with a photograph attached, starring his mom.

"My mom, bless her, her favorite thing is to visit the set of everything I do," Pollak told Rich.

So years ago, during the making of A Few Good Men, his mom and stepdad came to visit. And Nicholson, by Pollak's telling, made the most of it. He would tease Pollak that he needed to get his mom off his back because she was hitting on him, and then ask, deadpan, whether Pollak wanted him to take her back to his trailer.

"That's a quote, by the way," Pollak said. "That's an actual quote."

Nicholson, he explained, was "very much a goofball." So Pollak asked whether he would mind taking a photo with his mom and his stepdad, Dick. The four of them lined up right outside the trailers, Nicholson in a t-shirt, and Nicholson kept the bit going straight through the shot.

"Your mom's grabbing my ass, kid," Pollak recalled him saying. "Get her off me. I'm just kidding."

Then Nicholson turned to her. "What's her name? Elaine? Elaine, you've done all right with this one," he said of Pollak. "He's a bit of a handful, but he's all right. He's doing some good work."

And to the stepdad: "Dick, you hold on to her. She's nuts."

"That's what was happening during that photo," Pollak said.

The funny part, Pollak noted, is how little the two of them actually worked together. Their characters barely share any scenes, which is why people always ask him why Colonel Jessep singles him out in the courtroom. "Who's going to do it? You? You, Lieutenant Weinberg?"

Pollak's answer is that Nicholson made sure Aaron Sorkin knew Jessep had a long list of prejudices, one of which was a clear dislike of Weinberg's people. The room ran with it. Colonel Jessep, it was agreed, was not a big High Holidays guy.

Pollak also shared the detail that may be his favorite. Nicholson had a single assistant, and he nicknamed her "Staff," so he could say he had a whole staff. After finishing a take on the stand, Nicholson would stand up, want a cigarette, and call out, "Staff, light me."

"There's no way to say how much you look forward to that moment," Pollak said.

His final word on Nicholson's work in the movie was a paradox. He was letter perfect and never missed a syllable, Pollak said, but it didn't feel like acting. "He looked like he'd been stoned for three days."

"Thank you for that story," Rich said. "You made my day, sir."