In Case You Weren’t Sure, Nicolas Cage Is In On The Joke
The actor got self-reflective in a new interview. He realises The Wicker Man was weird.
Somewhere amidst all its daily chatter and exciting cat videos, the internet has long been embroiled in an endless flame war surrounding one important topic: “Is Nicolas Cage for real?”
Unlike, say, Johnny Depp, who everyone seems to agree is just acting silly whenever he puts on eyeshadow or a bird-hat on his head, many folks remain unsure of Nicolas Cage’s often overblown intent. That’s why we end up with articles named ‘Nicolas Cage: The Worst Actor Of His Generation’ or their often ironic antithesis, lists like ’42 Reasons Why Nicolas Cage Is The Greatest Actor Of His Generation’.
Even fellow star Ethan Hawke entered the discussion last month when he eloquently expounded on Cage’s appeal during a recent Reddit AMA session, describing him as “the only actor since Marlon Brando that’s actually done anything new with the art of acting; he’s successfully taken us away from an obsession with naturalism into a kind of presentation style of acting that I imagine was popular with the old troubadours.”
Well, finally, the bickering can cease, because Nicolas Cage, maligned cinematic nutso, analysed his own craziness in an interview with the The Guardian while promoting his new film, The Frozen Ground, over the weekend. And yes, he understands he’s being weird.
The entertaining interview touched on some wide-ranging topics, from his widely-reported real estate issues with all those castles he bought last decade (“I had to put the money somewhere… and I didn’t trust stocks and I didn’t trust just leaving it in the bank. So now I’m working through all that.”), to his current off-work routine (“It’s like if you have a doberman and you don’t let the dog work, it’s going to get a little hyperactive… I’ve made a new point of reading the New York Times from start to finish every day. I watch CNN. I read the Guardian. I’m trying to take in what’s happening in the world. Those become resources for me.”), and the fact that he doesn’t need medication so stop trying to force-feed him pills like some sorta dog (“I invite the entire spectrum, shall we call it, of feeling. Because that is my greatest resource as a film actor. I need to be able to feel everything, which is why I refuse to go on any kind of medication. Not that I need to! But my point is, I wouldn’t even explore that, because it would get in the way of my instrument.”). But the most interesting bits came when Cage addressed criticisms of his films and performances.
“There is a misperception, if you will, in critical response or even in Hollywood, that I can only do exaggerated characters,” said Cage. “Or what they would call over-the-top performances… Well, this is completely false.”
And then the interviewer reminded him of this bit from The Wicker Man (2006).
“The issue with The Wicker Man is there’s a need by some folks in the media to think that we’re not in on the joke. But you don’t go around doing the things that character does – in a bear suit – and not know it’s absurd. It is absurd,” explained Cage. “Now, originally I wanted to play that cop with a handlebar moustache and like a really stiff suit, and the producers wouldn’t let me do it…”
And then the interviewer told him about this popular online video featuring all those insane scenes from Vampire’s Kiss (1988).
“Oh my god. I just can’t keep up with that stuff,” he says. “The internet has developed this thing about me — and I’m not even a computer guy, you know? I don’t know why it is happening. I’m trying not to… lemme say this: I’m now of the mindset that, when in Rome, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.”
Does this statement mean he’s gonna get crazier? We hope so. In somewhat related news, here’s Nicolas Cage as a bunch of Disney princesses. This stuff will never stop.
