Asking “Does Jack Nicholson smoke?” is like asking if the sky is blue. To Jack Nicholson, cigars are more than just a pastime — they’re a lifelong passion.

Nicholson’s on-screen love affair with cigars dates back to The Last Detail (1973) and his decision to make Petty Officer Buddusky a smoker.

Since then, there have been many iconic images of Jack Nicholson smoking a cigar in movies and portraits.

Let’s look at the Oscar-winning actor’s career and some of Jack Nicholson’s favorite cigars, which you can buy today from JR Cigars.

John Joseph Nicholson was born on April 22nd, 1937, to an unmarried 17-year-old showgirl, June. Nicholson grew up believing June was his sister, with his grandparents stepping into the roles of Mom and Pop.

In 1950, Nicholson visited California for the first time, leading to a short-lived career at the MGM cartoon studio of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera.

However, Jack didn’t want to be an animator. He wanted to be an actor, an ambition that came to fruition on May 5th, 1955, with a role on the TV series Tales of Wells Fargo (1957-62)

From the small screen, Nicholson progressed to movie roles. His debut came in the title role in the low-budget drama The Cry Baby Killer (1958).

A career spanning seven decades followed, including Academy-Award-winning roles in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), Terms of Endearment (1983) and As Good as It Gets (1997).

Nicholson’s filmography includes about 80 movies and a surprisingly diverse range of characters. One of his best-known and most loved roles came in Batman (1989) where he put in a character-defining performance as Joker.

Jack Nicholson’s cigar portraits are some of the most famous photos of the actor, who has posted many of the images to his Instagram page.

There are fewer photos of Jack Nicholson smoking cigarettes, with good reason. While Nicholson started smoking early in his life, when he married Sandra Knight in 1962, the pair both decided to quit.

After The Last Detail (1973), Nicholson decided that smoking cigars was a better habit than smoking cigarettes, and he’s been seen with a stick in his hand on and off screen ever since. A particularly spectacular cigar-smoking moment happens during the infamous bathroom scene, in which Buddusky starts a brawl. Nicholson manages to maintain his Cuban cigar by holding it between his teeth as he fights. Now that’s a dedication to a stick.

Nicholson has been seen brandishing a cigar in several other notable movies, including his roles as Henry Moon in Goin’ South (1978) and Daryl Van Horne in The Witches of Eastwick (1987). His noteworthy portrayal of Colonel Jessep in A Few Good Men (1992) often involves holding a stick and taking occasional puffs between impressive speeches.

But Nicholson isn’t just an on-screen smoker — he’s been interviewed plenty of times about his favorite cigarmakers. In an interview with Cigar Aficionado, he commented on growing up around other cigar smokers and developing his passion for stogies as a result. Like many smokers, he has his style, such as preferring to light up with matches in place of lighters.

Of course, where Nicholson shows his preferences is through his choice of cigars.

We’ve picked out three of Jack Nicholson’s favorite cigars below. These are all smokes he’s mentioned in interviews, and while Nicholson claims he isn’t a connoisseur, we have to agree with his top three.

Romeo y Julieta Cigars

It’s quite appropriate that Jack, who has appeared in his fair share of romantic movies, lists Romeo y Julieta cigars among his favorites.

Dating back to 1875, the brand was named after Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers. In 1903, Jose ‘Pepin’ Rodriguez Fernandez bought the brand, in part due to his fascination with Shakespeare’s plays.

Romeo y Julieta cigars were also a firm favorite of Sir Winston Churchill, and the main vitola in the line-up was renamed in his honor. Sticks of around 7 x 50 in size are now known as Churchills across the cigar world.

Cohiba Robusto Cigars

Nicholson is on record as saying that he enjoys smoking Cohiba Robusto cigars. While that could be one of several, we’ve picked out the Cohiba Red Dot Robusto for this list.

At 5 x 49, it’s a great introduction to this line of Dominican hand-rolled premium cigars, with some unique flavors added by the Indonesian binder and Cameroon wrapper.

With packs of 10 available at JR Cigars, you can get even better value when restocking your humidor with one of Jack’s favorites.

Montecristo Cigars

Finally, we end with Montecristo cigars. Named after Alexandre Dumas’ 1845 novel The Count of Monte Cristo, this has become one of the world’s most famous cigar brands.

Combining Cuban heritage with present-day Nicaraguan and Dominican expertise, there’s so much to experience and plenty of variety in the Montecristo line-up. If you’re starting, try the Montecristo White Series, which is hand-rolled at the infamous Tabacalera de Garcia factory in the Dominican Republic.

Learn more in our Montecristo Buying Guide and then pick up a few boxes at fantastic prices from JR Cigars today.