Jack Nicholson would rather “sit under a tree and read a book” than return to acting, a friend of the legendary film star has claimed.

Nicholson, 86, last appeared in a feature film in 2010’s How Do You Know, a critically-panned romantic comedy starring Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson and Paul Rudd.

In the 13 years, since he has resisted any offers to return to acting and now his long-time friend, the Hollywood producer Lou Adler, has confirmed that Nicholson is more than happy to continue leading his quiet, private life.

In an interview on the podcast WTF With Marc Maron, Adler responded when Maron recounted an anecdote about Nicholson. “A friend of mine wanted to put him in a movie,” Maron said, referring to the actor. “And he had a conversation with him. But Jack says, ‘I don’t want to do it.’ He goes, ‘You know what I did today? I sat under a tree and I read a book.’”

“That sounds like Jack,” Adler laughed. “He’s doing whatever he really wants to do. He wants to be quiet. He wants to eat what he wants. He wants to live the life he wants.”

Jack Nicholson has won three Oscars for his roles in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Terms of Endearment and As Good As It Gets. With a total of 12 Oscar nominations, he is the most nominated male actor in the Academy’s history.

He has never officially retired, although he did state in a 2013 Vanity Fair interview that he was less driven to “be out there anymore”.

He is now most commonly seen courtside watching the Los Angeles Lakers. A recent television series about fans of the team, titled Winning Time, sees Max E. Williams playing the actor. It was reported that the series replicated a real-life event when Nicholson mooned fans of the opposition team, although the scene was not used in the show.

In April this year, fans of the actor were “outraged” when pictures of him standing on the balcony of his home were published by the Daily Mail.

Recently, Nicholson’s estranged daughter Tessa Gourin called out her father in a wide-ranging interview. She criticised Nicholson for not trying to get in touch and claimed that he’s “not interested” in having a relationship with her.