Anjelica Huston attended the 1975 Academy Awards, with then-partner Jack Nicholson. [Source: NZ Herald]

Jack Nicholson’s friends have spoken out about their fears for his health, with the highly decorated actor said to be “living like a recluse”.

The US actor, 85, hasn’t been seen in public in over a year, while his last film was back in 2010.

Speaking to RadarOnline, multiple sources said the three-time Oscar-winning actor “doesn’t leave his house anymore” and that his “mind is gone”.

The sources added they were worried he was quietly suffering from dementia.

Father-of-five Nicholson was last spotted at an LA Lakers game at the Staples Centre in October 2021, alongside his son Ray Nicholson, 30.

The source added Nicholson was living his days much like Brando’s later years. Brando, who died in 2004, was one of the brightest stars in Hollywood’s golden age, before gaining a significant amount of weight in the years prior to his death.

“Brando died a virtual recluse after leading such a colourful life, and Jack’s friends are drawing the comparisons,” the source said. “His kids will visit, but they’re his only connection to the world.

“It’s like he doesn’t want to face reality anymore and that’s just sad.”

Nicholson, who is the most nominated male performer at the Academy Awards, quietly stepped away from acting after starring in rom-com How Do You Know with Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd and Owen Wilson in 2010.

In 2013, a friend told RadarOnline that Nicholson decided to step back due to memory issues.

“Jack has – without fanfare – retired,” a source told the publication.

“There is a simple reason behind his decision – it’s memory loss. Quite frankly, at 76, Jack has memory issues and can no longer remember the lines being asked of him.”

However, Nicholson, who has an estimated net worth of $910m (US$580m), denied he was retiring following a career spanning five decades in a rare interview with The Sun that same year. He also watered down health concerns, claiming he had a “mathematician’s brain”.

“[But] I’m not going to work until the day I die, that’s not why I started this. I mean, I’m not driven. I was driven – but I’m not, I don’t have to be out there anymore,” he said at the time.

“In fact, there’s part of me that never really liked being out there … You get older, you change.”

It’s understood Nicholson, a renowned party animal in his earlier days, is currently single.

His longest relationship was with US actress Anjelica Huston, whom he dated from 1973 until 1990.

Tabloids ran wild with stories of Nicholson’s multiple affairs during their lengthy relationship, which ultimately came to an end when Nicholson fathered a child with actress Rebecca Broussard.

Despite his many romances, Nicholson has only been married once, to The Terror co-star Sandra Knight from 1962 to 1968.

Nicholson also dated actresses Susan Anspach, Lara Flynn Boyle and Paz de la Huerta, and was linked to supermodel Kate Moss in the early 2000s.