Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson is the most nominated male actor in the history of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. At the time of the making of Kubrick's The Shining, Nicholson was already a household name, having played lead roles in such acclaimed films as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and Chinatown (1974).
Nicholson's breakout role was that of George Hanson in Dennis Hopper's Easy Rider (1969). Nicholson has also contributed to the writing of various films, such as The Trip (1967), directed by Roger Corman, who would become a frequent collaborator. The stars of the film were Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper, who were so impressed with Nicholson's writing that they later offered Nicholson a part that opened up in Easy Rider.
It was Nicholson's part in Bob Rafelson's Five Easy Pieces (1970) that cemented what would become his persona as a counterculture anti-hero, which still persists today.
Although Stephen King disapproved of Kubrick's choice to cast Nicholson in the role of Jack Torrance, as he believed the part demanded more of an workaday persona than he believed Nicholson could provide, Kubrick was firm in his decision. Nicholson has spoken highly of his collaboration with Kubrick and famously improvised some of the film's most famous lines, such as "Here's Johnny!"
Shelley Duvall
Shelley Duvall is an acclaimed actress from Texas, famous for her unique, wide-eyed aesthetic. Her career was kickstarted by a number of collaborations with the legendary American film director Robert Altman in the 1970s. These include McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), Nashville (1975), and 3 Women (1977). She went on to play roles in Woody Allen's Annie Hall (1977) and Jane Campion's The Portrait of a Lady (1996).
Once she was cast as Wendy Torrance in The Shining, Duvall famously clashed with Stanley Kubrick, who told the film's cast and crew to resist treating her with kindness in order to create the desperate, exhausted performance that he wanted for her character.
Danny Lloyd
Danny Lloyd's only notable acting role was that of Danny Torrance in Kubrick's The Shining. Kubrick was able to film the movie without letting Lloyd, only seven years old, realize that he was acting in a horror film.
Lloyd is now a biology teacher at a community college in Kentucky.
Scatman Crothers
Scatman Crothers began his career as a musician, playing drums and guitar in musical ensembles that performed at speakeasies and on radio shows. He was given the nickname "Scatman" by a radio show director who noticed Crothers' ability to scat sing, a popular style in jazz. Once, Scatman's band performed at a speakeasy for notorious gangster Al Capone.
Crothers also enjoyed a long career as a voiceover artist, voicing the part of Scat Cat in the Disney movie, The Aristocats (1970), and singing its most famous song, "Everybody Wants to Be a Cat."
Crothers was cast as Dick Hallorann, the telepathic cook at the Overlook Hotel, and later remembered his work with Stanley Kubrick as a beautiful experience that he would always remember, despite its physical demands as the cast worked through what could be hundreds of takes.
