Jack Nicholson: I'm 'Uncomfortable' With 'Sex Legend' Rumors

Jack Nicholson has long been rumored to have bedded more than 2,000 women -- a mighty feat for any man. But according to the 75-year-old actor, that number has been greatly exaggerated over the years.

"I am an extreme person. If someone says, 'Jack, you are a womanizer,' I don't deny it. But the life of a gigolo always ends badly," the Oscar winner tells U.K.'s The Sun. "That is one of the reasons I feel uncomfortable about all that 'sex legend' stuff."

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"There are also women I have seen, intimately, for a very long time over my life," he adds. "Unexpected, perhaps, but true."

Nicholson -- who has enjoyed high-profile relationships with Anjelica Huston and Janice Dickinson, among others -- insists he's much more mellow than he used to be. "Anger has always been a problem, and every once in a while I just have to let it out. I always regret it later. After a couple of hours I calm down and think, 'What way could I have solved that problem other than blowing up?' I should have learned how to do that long ago and that would have made my life easier -- with less apologizing."

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The "Bucket List" actor adds, "I have been in a lot of therapy over the years and have found it has helped. The therapist I use in Los Angeles says to me, 'Jack, you are one of the best patients I've ever had.' And I say, 'Why is that, Sidney?' He says. 'You usually know what your problem is, you do what I tell you and that's the end of the therapy.'"

In hindsight, Nicholson wishes he would have been a more involved parent to 48-year-old Jennifer (with ex-wife Sandra Knight), 22-year-old Lorraine and 20-year-old Raymond (with ex-girlfriend Rebecca Broussard) and 32-year-old Honey (with ex-girlfriend Winnie Hollman). (Actress Susan Anspach has said her son, Caleb Goddard, was fathered by Nicholson, but the "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" star has not confirmed her allegation.)

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"I didn't see enough of my eldest daughter because I was trying to make a career," he tells The Sun. "I have a daughter, Lorraine, and a son, Raymond, with whom I was able to spend much more time."

Over the years, "The Shining" star has picked up a few words of wisdom he often imparts on his three children. "I give out advice all the time. I say, 'Do not lie, do not steal and do not be afraid.' Especially, the last one. Fear stops us doing things," the actor says. "I also say it's the things that you do not do in life that cause regret."