Is there an actor alive more unique, more beloved, more quintessentially himself than Nicolas Cage? Few actors can boast a career of award-winning work (including an Oscar), blockbuster fare, and absolutely bananas career choices. Cage’s pop culture persona pivots from heartfelt performances to meme-worthy moments, always with his signature eccentric energy. Coming off of a critically acclaimed performance in Pig, Cage’s next film is The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, a dark comedy where he plays a version of himself.
Cage recently participated in a Reddit AMA to promote the film, and brought his unique energy and enthusiasm to the endeavor. His answers were thoughtful and fascinating, shedding some light on the enigmatic actor. When asked what his dream role is, he replied “I would like to play Jules Verne’s Captain Nemo because of the character’s love of the ocean I share that with him.” When asked what movies he can watch over and over and still not get bored, he wrote “Apocalypse Now and Spirited Away.”
Cage also shared several anecdotes of his time in spent with fellow actors. When asked about his performance as Big Daddy in Kick-Ass, he discussed drawing inspiration from Adam West’s Batman, writing “I would give it all to Adam West. I grew up watching him on the 60s Batman show and he is where it begins and where it ends as Big Daddy. I met Adam West once and I said “did you see I was channeling you?” and he said “I saw you TRY to channel me!”
Cage also discussed which 3 films from his canon he would want preserved for posterity, citing “Bringing Out the Dead, Pig, and Leaving Las Vegas.” He also discussed which directors he’d like to work with, saying “I would love to work with Christopher Nolan. I would love to work with Ari Aster, I would love to work with Robert Egger. Spike Lee too.”
Cage elaborated on his role in Pig, which many consider to be one of the best films of his career. “I was interested in returning to a more quiet, naturalistic style of film performance, having done a series of more operatic performance styles. The movie feels rather like a folk song to me or a poem, and the character of Rob was contending with tremendous grief and self imposed isolation and I think we as a group of people experiencing a pandemic in 2020-21 we’re probably also having similar feelings of loss and isolation and it communicated to a nerve we were all experiencing. It’s one of my favorite movies, and it’s probably my best work.”
. The AMA is delightful and well worth reading in its entirety. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent hits theaters on April 22.
(via Reddit, image: Screen Media Ventures)
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