Nicolas Cage filmography and biography
Date of birth: 7 January 1964, Long Beach, California, USA
Nicolas Cage biography
The son of comparative literature professor August Coppola (a
brother of director Francis Ford Coppola) and
dancer/choreographer Joy Vogelsang, Cage changed his name early in his
career to make his own reputation, succeeding brilliantly with a host
of classic, quirky roles by the late 1980s.
Initially studying theatre at Beverly Hills High (though he dropped out
at 17), he secured a bit part in
Fast Times at Ridgemont High -- most of which was cut,
dashing his hopes and leading to a job selling popcorn at the Fairfax
Theater, thinking that would be the only route to a movie career. But a
job reading lines with auditionees for uncle Francis'
Rumble Fish landed him a role in that film, followed by
the punk-rocker in Valley Girl, which was released first
and truly launched his career.
His one-time passion for method acting reached a personal limit when he
smashed a street-vendor's remote-control car to achieve the sense of
rage needed for his gangster character in
The Cotton Club.
In his early 20s, he dated Jenny Wright (I) for two years and
later linked to Uma Thurman. After a relationship of several
years with Christina Fulton, a model, they split amicably and
share custody of a son, Weston Cage (b.1992).
Nicolas Cage trivia
- Half German, half Italian.
- 2000: Filed divorce papers in February, withdrew them in April.
- October 1997: Ranked #40 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie
Stars of All Time" list.
- Was engaged to Kristen Zang.
- Nephew of Francis Ford Coppola and Talia Shire.
- Got Johnny Depp his first acting job.
- Close friend of Tom Waits, Crispin Glover and
Rush (II) drummer Neil Peart.
- Stage name taken from comic book character Luke Cage.
- Owns a Lamborghini that used to belong to
Prince Ali-Reza Pahlavi, the former Shah of Iran.
- Brother of Marc Coppola and Christopher Coppola (I).
- Grandson of Carmine Coppola.
- Proposed to Patricia Arquette on the day he met her in the early
1980s. Arquette thought he was a bit strange but played along with his
antics by creating a list of things Cage would have to fulfill to win
her. When he started to work his way through the list, Arquette got
scared and avoided him. They met again many years later and later went
on to marry.
- 1997: He lived in a fake castle on the outskirts Los Angeles. He wants
to import an authentic one from overseas.
- Loves to improvise, ocassionally to the annoyance of other cast members.
- Collects comic books and sees them as being today's equivalent of
mythology.
- The Wild at Heart movie poster lists his name as both
"Nicolas Cage" and "Nicholas Cage".
- Ranked #37 in Premiere's 100 most powerful people in Hollywood in 1998.
- 1984: Listed as one of 12 "Promising New Actors of 1984" in John Willis'
Screen World, Vol. 36.
- Suffers from vertigo.
- Tim Burton (I) cast Cage in his doomed Superman project. Cage
even did fittings of the costume.
- On his upper back he has a tattoo of monitor lizard with a top hat.
- 2001: Announced that he is dating Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of
the late Elvis Presley. They later married.
- Cousin of Robert Schwartzman, who changed his name to Robert
Schwartzman-Cage inspired by Nicolas.
- May 2001: Awarded an Honory Doctorate in Fine Arts by California State
University, Fullerton. He spoke at the commencement.
- Father August Coppola, formerly a professor at Cal State Long Beach and
Dean of Creative Arts at San Francisco State University
- During an A&E Biography on him, the host explained that Cage was
director Sam Raimi's first choice to play Norman Osborn/Green
Goblin in the movie Spider-Man. Apparently this was
before he met Willem Dafoe.
- Graduated UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television.
- Cousin of Sofia Coppola, Jason Schwartzman and
Roman Coppola.
- On The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, he told Jay that he
took the name "Cage" from a comic book character named Luke Cage, the
"first black superhero." This is not accurate; the first black
superhero in mainstream comics was Marvel's Black Panther, introduced
in 1966. Luke Cage, introduced in 1972, was also preceded by: Marvel's
Falcon, introduced in 1969; the black western hero, Lobo, from Dell
Comics in 1965 (the first black character to star in his own title);
the title character of "Waku, Prince of the Bantu," an African
chieftain, introduced as part of the Atlas Comics anthology title
"Jungle Tales" in 1954. When asked which of the powers he would prefer
to have, he said flight was his desire.
- Has a son, Weston Cage (with actress Christina Fulton),
born 26 December, 1990.
- One of three actors (with Lee Marvin [Cat Ballou]
and Peter Sellers
[Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb])
with an Oscar nomination for playing multiple characters in a film (in
Adaptation., he plays two characters, Donald and
Charlie). Marvin is the only one who actually won one for a double
role.
- Former cousin, by marriage, of director Spike Jonze.
- Met his future wife, Alice Kim Cage, at a sushi bar where she was
a waitress. She was only 20-years-old at the time they married.
- Went to the same high school as Angelina Jolie,
Michael Klesic, Lenny Kravitz,
David Schwimmer (I), Jonathan Silverman (I),
Gina Gershon, Rhonda Fleming, Jackie Cooper (I),
Rob Reiner, Antonio Sabato Jr., Pauly Shore,
Michael Tolkin, Betty White (I), Corbin Bernsen,
Elizabeth Daily, Albert Brooks (I) and
Crispin Glover.
- Ate a real cockroach in the film Vampires Kiss, it
reportedly took three takes. He once said about the experience, "Every
muscle in my body didn't want to do it, but I did it anyway."
- Attended Justin-Siena High School in Napa, CA, during the early '80s.
- His is (along with his cousin Sofia Coppola) the third generation
of Oscar winners in the Coppola family. His uncle,
Francis Ford Coppola and his grandfather,
Carmine Coppola, are the other two generations. They are the
second family to do so, the first family is the Hustons -
Anjelica Huston, John Huston (I) and
Walter Huston.
- Nick and his wife, Alice Kim Cage, had a son, Kal-el Coppola
Cage, on October 3, 2005 in New York City. Just as Nick was named after
a comic book character, "Luke Cage", so he has named his son after the
comic book character "Kal-el" (aka Superman).
- Trains in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Royce Gracie
- Referred to as the "Jazz musician of acting" by David Lynch (I).
- Former stepfather of Patricia Arquette's son Enzo
- Former stepfather of Riley Keough.
- July 2006: Bought Schloss Neidstein, a mini castle in the Bavarian
village of Etzelwang.
- After his first film role (in
Fast Times at Ridgemont High), he adopted the stage name
of Cage, because he wanted to assure himself that any success he had
was based on his own merits, not the fame of his uncle,
Francis Ford Coppola.
- Was a very close friend of late Johnny Ramone.
- Big fan of Elvis Presley.
- Considered "Blue" before settling on "Cage" as his surname.
- His grandmother originates from Cochem/Mosel, Germany.
- 2006: He purchased a home on the former property of
John Wayne (I) in Newport Beach, CA, for a record-setting $24
million.
- Said in a Reader's Digest interview that his wife, Alice, is into
designing jewelry and has no interest whatsoever in being an actress.
- Offered the role of Green Goblin/Norman Osborn in
Spider-Man.
- Was originally considered for the role of Brad Hamilton in
Fast Times at Ridgemont High, but after his audition the
studio thought his performance was too dark and the role went, instead,
to Judge Reinhold. Additionally, Cage was 17 at the time and
could not work as many hours as actors over 18. In this film, he is
credited under the name Nicolas Coppola for the first and only time.
- 1999: Was among the guests at the wedding of Spike Jonze and
Sofia Coppola. Others were George Lucas (I),
Jason Schwartzman, Bo Barrett, Kirsten Dunst and
Tom Waits.
- Auditioned for the role of Joel in Risky Business, but the
role eventually went to Tom Cruise.
- He said he realized that all great movie stars, such as
Spencer Tracy (I), had had recognizable voices, so he has
stylized his to be distinctive.
- Great-grandson of Francesco Pennino.
- Owns a home in New Orleans.
- Devoted Elvis Presley fan that he is, in
Wild at Heart he performed the Elvis classic "Love Me"
with uncanny aplomb.
- Former son-in-law of Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley.
- 2007: Bought Midford Castle (a big house, not a real castle) near Bath,
England. Purchase price was in the region of £5 million (about $10
million).
- In 2006, he donated $2 million to Amnesty International for a fund to
help child soldiers.
- Owns homes in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, New Orleans, and
New York City.
- Owns the rights of the original
The Courtship of Eddies Father movie, for which he
bought the rights from Ted Turner (I). He was going to use that
as a new movie. Since Cage was busy with other projects, the movie
didn't come to any fruition.
- While making an appearance on
Late Show with David Letterman for the film
Knowing, he mentioned that he is fascinated with
hang-gliding.
- Is an alumnus of the children's theatre group MET2 along with
Adam Lambert (II), Sofia Coppola, Matt McFarland,
Kylie Tyndall, Keaton Tyndall, Vivian Bayubay,
Nathan Norton, Derek Klena, Lauren Klena, &
Roma Watkins.
- In addition to the homes he owns, he also owns a home in Middletown,
Rhode Island. Purchased in August 2007.
- Son of August Coppola and Joy Vogelsang.
- Lives in Los Angeles, Malibu, Newport Beach, San Francisco, California
and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Nicolas Cage quotes
- To be a good actor you have to be something like a criminal, to be
willing to break the rules to strive for something new.
- There's a fine line between the Method actor and the schizophrenic.
- I am not a demon. I am a lizard, a shark, a heat-seeking panther. I want
to be Bob Denver on acid playing the accordion.
- [about his marriage to Lisa Marie Presley] I'm sad about this,
but we shouldn't have been married in the first place.
- Hollywood didn't know if I was an actor or a nut or if I was this crazy
character I was playing. I had developed an image of being a little bit
unusual, different and wild.
- I'm at the point now where I know I'm doing something right when a movie
gets mixed reviews, because then I'm not in the box. I don't want to
make it too easy for people and I don't want to make it too easy for
myself. I want to try something unusual. I feel good about the bad
reviews because I feel like I've affected them on some level. They may
not know what I was trying to do but they felt something
- I want to make all kinds of movies. I do want to make big movies that
are a lot of fun to go to, but I also want to make movies that are
going to stimulate some thought and maybe raise some awareness. And so
please don't think you're gonna go on a roller-coaster ride with those
movies.
- It's very risky for an actor who's a bankable star to make pictures like
The Weather Man or Lord of War because they
inevitably promote them like big studio releases. And they're not big
studio movies, they're more edgy, thought-provoking,
independent-spirited films. What happens is, it goes into the computer,
and everyone says they can't open the movie because they thought it was
X when it actually was Y.
- I needed to change my name just to liberate myself and find out I could
do it without walking into a Hollywood casting office with the name
Coppola.
- [Pablo Picasso] said art is a lie that tells the truth. What if
you just want to tell the truth and not lie about it?
- It's good to make movies that are tragedies, where people can think
about things in life that are undeniable, that everyone has to deal
with. But at the same time, it's also healing to make movies that are
entertaining, that are a lot of fun, where you don't have to think
about your problems.
- When I did Vampires Kiss, I got so wound up. It was so
important to me that this vision I had of Peter Lowe's character get on
film exactly the way that I wanted it, that I frankly don't think I was
very easy for anyone to live with. Certainly, I was not easy for myself
to live with. I remember that I wasn't drinking or anything at the
time. One night I felt so wound up that I was about to snap. I ordered
a martini. And I just relaxed, and I could tell my body really needed a
rest. From then on, I learned you can do good work without torturing
yourself.
- What happens is, you become different people in your path as an actor.
When I was doing those things, I was a very new actor. I didn't have a
lot of training, and I was trying to make some sort of impact, because
that was what was important for me at the time - to get on the map.
There were things I would do that were more shocking, or approaches I
would do to try and live the character, because I didn't have the
training. But then, as I went on, I started to find other methods, ways
to get into characters that weren't exactly destroying my life. (On the
wild eccentrics he used to get into character earlier in his career)
- I remember when I met Johnny Depp, he was a guitar player from
Florida, and he had no idea he could be an actor. I said, "I really
think you are an actor, that you have that ability." That was just from
playing one game of Monopoly with him. I sent him to my agent and he
has gone on to carve out a successful career.
- There is a method of thought that says it's better to stay mysterious,
make yourself an event so when you come out, people have a hunger to
see you again. I can think of some superstars who adopt that principle,
where they are very selective. But we are all going to get older, and
there is something to be said about doing some of your best work when
you are younger, when you still have that virility, something visceral
and raw. I've heard there have been some actors who've regretted not
doing more work when they were under fifty. (On why he works so much)
- [on making his character in Knowing a single father] I
have seen a lot of movies with single mothers and their children.
They're good, but there are not so many with capable single fathers.
There seems to be this archetype that if you're a man and single,
you're incapable of raising a child, which I think needs to be broken.
If you find yourself in that position - like I have - it's important
not to give up because of what people tell you.
- [on FaceOff] Without tooting my own horn - I think it's a
masterpiece.
- I was being stalked by a mime - silent but maybe deadly. Somehow, this
mime would appear on the set of set of
Bringing Out the Dead and start doing strange things. I
have no idea how it got past security. Finally, the producers took some
action and I haven't seen the mime since. But it was definitely
unsettling.
- (The hardest part was) trying to figure out how I was going to entertain
you while playing a guy who was completely out of his mind on crack. At
the same time, trying to be responsible so it didn't become an
advertisement for doing drugs. The other thing is, I wasn't sure I
could play the part totally sober, which I was. In "Leaving Las Vegas,"
I had a few drinks between scenes to get to a certain feeling, to get
to a certain truth. But with this I was trying to look at it more
impressionistically from a landscape of maybe 25 years ago to see what
would come out of that filter of my imagination. -- on the toughest
aspect of preparing for "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call -- New Orleans"
- So many directors are so arrogant. For example, Klaus Kinsky -- who
Werner Herzog has a legacy with -- he was very frustrated with the
arrogance. We always hear Werner's side of the story about "Klaus was
this and Klaus was that" but you never get to here Klaus' side of the
story. I was doing a scene (on "Bad Lieutenant") -- it was in my second
day of shooting -- and we all know the imagination and preparation
(required) to think I was on cocaine (for the character). There was a
little bottle of baby powder, and I'm snorting that. I'm psyching up,
I'm psyching up, and he comes up and says (in German accent), "Now
Nicolas, what is in that vial?" And I was like, "Are you kidding me?
After four hours of this you're gonna actually ask me that? Take me out
of my preparation? You would think the director would understand the
actor's process and give us the space and the room to do what it is we
need to do.
- I don't want to minimize the effort that goes into having a career, but
now with the video age, let's face it, you can write your own stories
and you can make your own movies and get it out. Or go on stage
somewhere in a small venue off-off-off-Broadway.
- Usually it's very cathartic. The hard stuff is when you're not feeling
great and you have to do a really happy scene. -- on the personal toll
acting can take on a person
- James Dean in "East of Eden," the scene where he's trying to give
Raymond Massey the money on his father's birthday. I was 14, I was at
the New Beverly Cinema, and I said, "Oh, no, that is exactly how I
feel. Oh my God, I have to do this." Nothing else ever affected me as
strongly. -- on if there were any moments in his life when he realized
he was going to be an actor
- {on the recession] People are losing their jobs because of what's going
on in the economy, but I want to make movies that give families
something to look forward to.
- (1996 quote) Jim Carrey and I went to George Hamilton's wine bar. He's
an interesting one. He was there and had some fun stories. I told him
how he was one of my heroes from the time he played Evel Knievel. We
had cigars, and very expensive bottles of wine were opened, and Jim and
I were going, "This is great, man." At the end of the night we got
slapped with an $8,000 bill. It was at that point that George became
the fox in the Pinocchio story. He happens to look quite a bit like
that fox. I would not want to play cards with George Hamilton.
- (1996) I remember my prom was a complete disaster. I used bonds my
grandmother had given me to rent a tuxedo and a limousine so I could go
to the prom with this beautiful girl. And at the end of the night I
went to kiss her and she responded. I was so nervous that my stomach
got really nauseous and I said, "Excuse me" and just threw up on the
street all over my shoes and my rented tux. The limo driver wouldn't
let me in the car. He split and I had to walk home. That was my prom
night.
- (1996, on if he wants to do theater work) No, I have stage fright. I
don't like it. I've never gotten over it.
- (1996) I do not have a religion in my life, I wasn't raised that way. My
father always believed that if I was going to have a religion I should
discover it on my own and not have it crammed down my throat at a young
age. I kind of wish I had some religion.
- (1996) If I thought about awards, I would not have been able to do a
movie like Leaving Las Vegas, because the word around town was that
Mike [Figgis] and I were making the most unreleasable movie in
Hollywood. I had some fear that the movie would not get released.
- (1996, on his life) I know what I want to do, I'm doing it, but I'm
still very much a student of the craft and I think I can go further. I
still torment myself. I have a lot of self-doubt.