This is a very unusual symptom of hardware failure. One or more of the following might be the cause.
The ribbon cable to the display has worked loose or its connection has otherwise become interrupted. This seems the most likely; most other problems would at least show a "gray" screen during startup.
The GPU (graphics card) has come loose or (very unlikely) has died.
If you (or someone you trust) are not comfortable opening it up and checking for loose connections, you can try taking it in to an Apple store for assessment, but this model is considered "vintage" and no longer supported.
Just for reference, I'll include a link to several videos which explain the breakdown process in detail. (
http://www.powerbookmedic.com/manual.php?id=35)
MacBook Pro 15 A1286 Repair Guide
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