According to reports, Jack Nicholson’s memory loss forced him to give up acting. The 76-year-old, three-time Oscar winner is reportedly no longer considering screenplays, but he will still take part actively in public life, according to Radar Online and Star Magazine.

“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,” a source informed Radar Online.

Nicholson’s last film, How Do You Know, was released in 2010.

The actor reportedly declined an invitation to appear in picture Nebraska, which now stars Bruce Dern (Django, Last Man Standing, Monster). The 77-year-old Bruce Dern received the best actor award at the Cannes Film Festival this year because of his performance. In Matthew Vaughn’s film The Golden Age, Nicholson was slated to play a retired superhero opposite Clint Eastwood and Warren Beatty. The planned movie has not yet been released.

Since turning 70, he has only appeared in The Bucket List, and he doesn’t have any upcoming projects.

In addition to winning best actor Oscars for the films One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in 1975, As Good as It Gets in 1998, and Terms of Endearment in 1984, Nicholson holds the record for the most Oscar nominations for a man: 12. As he did earlier this year when presenting the best picture award alongside Michelle Obama, he will reportedly continue to attend the annual awards ceremony if invited as a guest presenter of prizes. He will also probably frequently be seen courtside watching his favorite LA Lakers basketball team play.

If Nicholson has quit, it marks another another turning point in the slow end of a remarkable group of male American dramatic performers who were all born between 1930 and 1943 and dominated movie screens throughout the globe for decades. Surprisingly, the oldest of them, Clint Eastwood, keeps himself busiest, sometimes acting (in Gran Torino, Trouble with the Curve), and at 83, regularly directing a film.

Nicholson, meanwhile, allegedly has no plans to give up the spotlight.

The insider said, “Jack has no intention of retiring from the limelight. He’s not retiring from public life at all. He just doesn’t want a tribute. He’s happy to tacitly join the retirees club like Sean Connery.”

The actor Jack Nicholson’s reps have not officially commented on the subject of the actor’s retirement or reacted to inquiries from different news organizations.

However NBC anchor Maria Shriver has contradicted suggestions that Nicholson is to retire, according to E! Online, asserting he is “not suffering from any memory-related illness or dementia”.

Over the course of his five-decade career, Nicholson appeared in such Hollywood classics as The Shining, Batman, The Departed, and As Good as It Gets.

The actor, who was born in New Jersey, made his screen debut in 1958’s low-budget movie The Cry Baby Killer, in which he portrayed young offender Jimmy Wallace.