Known for his manic performance, Nicolas Cage’s acting career is as varied as his characters’ emotions. His operatic acting style has split audiences into polar camps, but one thing everyone can agree on is if you see Nicolas Cage, you never forget you just saw Nicolas Cage.
Here are some facts that will make this memorable actor even more unforgettable.
29. Heavy Metal
Nicolas Cage’s car obsession equals that of fellow celebrity car enthusiast Jay Leno. He’s owned a 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Pininfarina, a 1938 Bugatti T57C Atalante Coupe, and a 1971 Lamborghini Miura SVJ. The Lamborghini used to belong to Prince Ali-Reza Pahlavi, the former prince of Iran. In fact the Lamborghini is so rare that only 16 SVJ versions exist in the world and only four built specifically by Lamborghini themselves.
28. Pledge at First Sight
When Nicolas Cage first met Patricia Arquette, he proposed to her and Patricia playfully made a list of acts Nicolas would need to check off before she would accept his proposal. When Nicolas actually started fulfilling each ridiculous request, Patricia started to freak out and hide from him. But no one can hide from Nicolas for long and she would eventually be pulled into his gravity, and they married in 2001.
27. Superhero Name
Nicolas Cage was born Nicolas Kim Coppola, but later changed his name based on his love for the comic book character Luke Cage. He stated on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” that Luke Cage was the “first black superhero,” to which nerds all around the world heaved a collective sigh and rattled off several highly obscure superheroes.
26. Back in My Day, There Was No CGI
Taking his craft very seriously, Nicolas Cage once ate a real cockroach for the movie “Vampire’s Kiss.” He said, “Every muscle in my body didn't want to do it, but I did it anyway.”
25. A Dynasty of Entertainers
Filling out huge shoes, Nicolas Cage is the third generation of Oscar winners in the legendary Coppola family. The famed director Francis Ford Coppola and skilled composer Carmine Coppola are Oscar winners from previous Coppola generations.
24. Like Father Like Son
Continuing the tradition of superhero names, Nicolas Cage named his second child Kal-el, which is Superman’s birth name.
23. Religious Fan Base
Fans that love Nicolas Cage really, really love him. On the popular social website Reddit, there is a community who refers to Nicolas as the One True God.
22. National Treasures
It’s difficult to blow through 150 million dollars, but not if you have the skill of Nicolas Cage. Between 1996 and 2011, Nicolas made over 150 million dollars and then subsequently spent it all and more. How does one do this? By purchasing dinosaur skulls for 300,000 dollars. By purchasing rare albino king cobras. By buying whole islands!
21. The Island Life
Most people purchase a plane ticket when they go on vacation. But if you’re Nicolas Cage, you buy the land the plane will land on. As mentioned previously, Nicolas purchased two islands for his own personal use, because who doesn’t need 40 acres of exclusive privacy when they’re on vacation?
20. Not Just a Car Snob
At one point, not only did Nicolas Cage own 50 cars, but he also had 30 motorcycles. Some people have a different hat for every day of the month, Nicolas Cage? Motorcycles.
19. Ghost Hider
Always the eccentric, in 2006, Nicolas Cage lived in a supposedly haunted house. The house once belonged to serial-killer Madame LaLaurie. In the 1800s LaLaurie tortured and killed slaves. Their spirits haunt the mansion.
18. Why? For the Love of All That is Good… Why?
Nicolas Cage owns a collection of real shrunken pygmy heads. No one knows why. Maybe not even Nicolas Cage.
17. Well Isn’t That Just Super?
Nicolas Cage’s passion for Superman is strong. Not only did he name his son after the iconic superhero, but he was at one time also the proud owner of Action Comics #1, starring Superman’s first appearance.
16. Lord of Animals
Nicolas Cage owns a shark. Of course, why not? He also owns a crocodile. Both of these ferocious creatures should ideally be put into some sort of cage….
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15. Alternate Nicolas Cage Dimensions
Few actors can make roles distinctly their own as well as Nicolas Cage. Imagine how different the following movies would have been if Nicolas had been successful in his audition: John Bender from “The Breakfast Club,” Tony Stark from “Iron Man,” Willy Wonka from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” and Joel Goodsen from “Risky Business.”
14. Progressing the Art
Fellow actor Ethan Hawke gave Nicolas Cage high praise by saying that since Marlon Brando, only Nicolas has done anything new with the art of acting. Nicolas penned the acting style as “Nouveau Shamanic” and it’s in stark contrast with most actor’s preference of naturalism. He credits the author Brian Bates for his inspiration and bases the acting method on shamans, who he believes were very much actors themselves.
13. Ghost Rider
Being a huge comic book collector, it’s no surprise that Nicolas Cage has a tattoo of antihero Ghost Rider. Nicolas Cage nabbed his dream role playing Ghost Rider, but had to conceal his tattoo the whole shoot, because Ghost Rider wouldn’t ever have a tattoo of himself.
12. He Vill Not Drink Your Blood
Accusations of Nicolas Cage being a vampire spread across the internet when an 1870’s photo of a man who resembled Nicolas Cage appeared on Ebay with the headline “Nicolas Cage is a Vampire.” In response, Nicolas Cage admitted that there is a resemblance, but said his doppelganger is a “slowed down version” of him.
11. In Tomb We Trust
If you’re afraid that one day your grave might be robbed, play it like Nicolas Cage and purchase a nine-foot tall pyramid to have your body buried in.
10. A Method to His Madness
Early in his career, Nicolas Cage believed strongly in “Method Acting.” To prepare for a role of a severely wounded man, he had his teeth pulled in real life to connect with the physical pain of his character.
9. Not in Your Dreams
A young Nicolas Cage had recurring dreams of a giant blonde genie woman in a gold bikini, plucking him from his toilet seat through the window like a bizarre, Twilight Zone, King Kong scene.
8. Ups and Downs
Nicolas Cage has a knack for starring in really, really good or really, really bad movies. On the website Rotten Tomatoes the movie Deadfall received 0% and Red Rock West received 95%. And the kicker? Both movies came out the same year!
7. Stays Calm Under Fudgesical Pressure
While living in Orange County, one night Nicolas Cage woke up to find a man who had broken into his house, standing over his bed wearing nothing but Nicolas Cage’s leather jacket and eating a fudgesical. Nicolas was able to talk the man into leaving his home without any trouble.
6. Leaving Money On the Table
For his role in Leaving Las Vegas, arguably his best movie, Nicolas Cage accepted only $240,000. At the time he was able to negotiate $4 million dollars a picture, but felt that this was a fair trade-off based on the strength of the script. He would go onto win an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance.
5. A Worker at Heart
Nicolas Cage has been in over 80 movies. On average, Nicolas Cage stars in over 2 movies a year for every year he has been a working actor. Critics tease that Nicolas Cage can’t say no to a paycheck, but Nicolas has said “I'm one of those Americans who believes in working…. But in film acting, for some reason you get criticized for working.”
4. Meme Master
In addition to the meme of Nicolas Cage being an immortal vampire, another meme exists of Nicolas Cage where his forehead and hair is photoshopped to look like a bald eagle with the caption “My hair is a bird. Your argument is invalid.” This meme is used to poke fun of ad hominem arguments when someone doesn’t use facts to disprove a point, but instead uses a personal attack on one’s character.
3. Presidential Fears
Nicolas Cage was recently offered the role of playing President Reagan, but voiced concerns that his career would be damaged, since in the movie President Reagan was being portrayed in a flattering way.
2. Respect the Sex
Nicolas Cage won’t eat anything that has undignified sex. "I actually choose the way I eat according to the way animals have sex. I think fish are very dignified with sex. So are birds.” Pigs, however, will never be eaten by Nicolas Cage, because according to Nicolas Cage their undignified sex makes them unfit to be eaten!
1. The Incident...
Cage was once woken up by a disturbed, naked, homeless man sucking on a fudgesicle. The man was arrested but Cage did not press charges.
A similarly disturbing incident occurred on set. Cage was stalked by a Mime who appeared on his movie sets and followed him everywhere.
Fame ain't easy.
