Nicolas Cage, born Nicolas Kim Coppola, has had a prolific, award-winning career lasting decades, starting in the early 1980s. Over the years, Cage’s career has been seen as a study in the extremes. In particular, Cage has become known for going “full Cage,” playing all sorts of unhinged, memetic characters. Some of his roles have become memorable parts of popular culture, often memorialized as internet memes.
Cage has been in all sorts of movies, from horror comedies to action thrillers, and has played all sorts of characters. He can play the hero, the villain, or sometimes even both. In his more recent films, Cage even gets to poke fun at his famous reputation, with a few shout-outs to some of his famous roles. At times, Cage’s characters don’t rely on dialogue to keep the story going. There are even a few films where Cage played multiple characters, Cage’s work behind the scenes has also led to well-known stories.
10Renfield (2023) - Dracula
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Renfieldis a 2023 horror comedy dealing with Dracula’s eponymous minion. Taking place in modern New Orleans, Renfield has grown tired of his role of serving the infamous vampire as his immortal familiar. As he gets to meet more people, including a support group, Renfield is inspired to turn his life around.
What Makes It Great
Cage’s already casting in the role of Dracula pokes fun at his role in Vampire’s Kiss, in which Cage played a character who believed he was turning into a vampire. In one notable aspect in the film, Cage appears in Dracula, along with Nicholas Hoult’s Renfield, in recreations of the 1931 black-and-whiteDraculafilm towards the start of the film. In addition, Cage’s performance has been noted for channeling various previousDraculaactors, from Bela Lugosi to Christopher Lee. As Dracula is given some of thedarkest moments in the film, helping to build up the story’s kill count, Cage gets to be genuinely scary as well as funny throughout.
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9Wild at Heart (1990) - Sailor Ripley
Wild at Heartis a dark comedy that sees Cage play Sailor Ripley, a recently released convict going on a road trip to California. His love, Lula, is by his side, hoping to escape her controlling mother, Marietta, who was partly to blame for Sailor’s time incarcerated. Unfortunately, Marietta sicked two of her boyfriends on the two: a private investigator, Johnnie Farragut, and a gangster, Marcello Santos.
As Sailor, Cage dons a snakeskin jacket and comes across as a mix between Elvis and James Dean. In fact, Sailor gets to sing a few Elvis numbers, including “Love Me Tender,” which he pledged to sing to his eventual wife. In one of the more surreal aspects of the film, after believing it would be best to leave Lula, Sailor has a vision ofGlinda the Good WitchfromThe Wizard of Oz, a film referenced throughout the story, spurring him to go back.
8Mandy (2018) - Red Miller
Mandyis an action horror film set in 1983, where Cage plays logger Red Miller, who lives in California’s Shadow Mountains with the love of his life, Mandy. Their solitary lives are threatened by a demonic cult, New Dawn, whose leader takes an interest in Mandy. Members of the cult kidnap and torture the couple, with Mandy ultimately killed by fire. Red is out for revenge and soon comes across the drugs that led to the very formation of the cult. Taking it himself, Red starts having visions revealing what he must do.
Mandyis designed to be surreal even before Red falls under the influence of the drugs. Similarly, Red proves to be a hardcore character, crushing a man’s skull with his bare hands, even before trying the drug. The film suggests there might be something supernatural going on, and the cult members may have literally lost their humanity. However, the supernatural trappings are ultimately left open to interpretation. Red is a complex character, going from a humble man to a dangerous threat, though not one without mercy. During his rampage, Red becomes silent, allowing his body language to do the talking.
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7Willy’s Wonderland (2021) - The Janitor
Willys Wonderland
A quiet drifter is tricked into a janitorial job at the now condemned Willy’s Wonderland. Starring Nicolas Cage.
Willy’s Wonderlandis a horror comedy seeing Cage play a quiet drifter who gets a job as a night janitor at the titular Willy’s Wonderland, a family entertainment venue, complete with animatronic performers. The job seems simple enough, until the animatronics come out at night and target the drifter, now known as “the Janitor.” However, the Janitor soon proves the animatronics should be afraid of him. Meanwhile, a local girl, Liv, whose dark past is connected to the place, plans to burn the place to the ground with the help of her friends.
Cage plays the mysterious hero who quickly proves to be the real danger to the monsters he faces. The character is also portrayed as completely silent, letting Cage’s actions define the character. Very little is explained about the Janitor’s past, leaving a lot of the character to the viewers' imagination. Cage was also heavily involved with the film behind-the-scenes, serving as a producer. Allegedly, it was his idea to have a few of the animatronic characters be reptiles, including Tito Turtle, Arty Alligator, and Cammy Chameleon.
6Pig (2021) - Rob Feld
A truffle hunter who lives alone in the Oregon wilderness must return to his past in Portland in search of his beloved foraging pig after she is kidnapped. Starring Nicolas Cage.
Pigsees Cage play a truffle hunter, Robin “Rob” Feld, living in the remote Oregon wilderness, selling truffles to his buyer, Amir. However, after his beloved pig gets kidnapped, Rob must venture to Portland to save her, teaming up with Amir. Both Rob and Amir soon find themselves confronting their pasts, with Amir enduring the fallout of his parents' unhappy marriage and Rob dealing with the death of his wife. As the figure behind the pig theft becomes clear, both Rob and Amir have to come to terms with their past.
AlthoughPighas often been mistaken forJohn Wickwith a pig thanks to the premise, this undercuts the film being a character-driven drama. The story doesn’t promise viewers a happy ending, but Rob ends the story by learning to process his grief. Cage proves his acting chops by giving a very subdued, cerebral performance, though not completely without his trademark outbursts, as Rob.
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5The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022) - “Nick Cage” (& “Nicky”)
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talentsees Nicolas Cage play a double role. Cage appears as a fictionalized version of himself, “Nick,” as well as “Nicky,” his own alter-ego, representing his younger self. The story starts out with Nick already being passed over for new roles. Nick decides to finally retire from acting and accepts a job appearing at the birthday party of a rich playboy, Javi Gutierrez, who shares Nick’s taste in films. However, Nick is soon roped into performing in a movie Javi wrote, all the while being recruited by the CIA to investigate his new friend.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talentreads like a love-letter to Cage, even in its title. The script is filled with references to Cage’s career, from a character mentioningThe Croods 2to Cage repeating his famous quote “Not the bees!,” fromThe Wicker Man. Javi notably has acquired quite a collection of Nicolas Cage merchandise. “Nicky” is even credited with Cage’s birth name, Nicolas Kim Coppola.
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4Con Air (1997) - Cameron Poe
InCon Air, Cage plays Army Ranger Cameron Poe, who is arrested for killing a man while protecting his pregnant wife. Thanks to a harsh judge and a lawyer telling him to take a guilty plea, Poe won’t be free until his daughter’s seventh birthday. After making parole, Poe is put on a plane to transport him home, alongside a few dangerous criminals being shipped to a new prison. A dangerous plot is put into action to hijack the plane. Unfortunately, the other passengers will learn the hard way not to mess with Poe.
Poe never loses the audience’s sympathies, being the victim of a merciless penal system and a good guy forced to pretend to be a con to save his life. Despite this, Poe can be over-the-top at times, like his Southern accent, his devotion to a toy bunny meant for his daughter, and the exaggerated fighting. In popular culture, the film is also known for being heavily referenced in theHomestuckwebcomic.
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3Face/Off (1997) - Castor Troy (& Sean Archer)
Face / Off
Relentless FBI agent Sean Archer (John Travolta) must go dangerously undercover to investigate the location of a lethal biological weapon planted by his arch rival, the sadistic terrorist-for-hire Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage). After undergoing a radical surgical procedure, Archer literally “borrows” Troy’s face and identity to carry out his mission. But things go awry when Troy, emerging from a coma, transforms into Archer and wreaks havoc upon his life, both at work and at home.As the bomb continues to tick and the tension mounts, it becomes a high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse as both Archer and Troy, ironically trapped in their enemy’s body, try to save face their own.
Face/Offis an action thriller starring Cage alongside John Travolta. The two play sworn enemies: a terrorist-for-hire, Castor Troy, and an FBI agent, Sean Archer. In order to uncover a dangerous plot, Archer has Troy’s face surgically switched with his, hoping to get information from the inside. However, Troy awakens and takes Archer’s face for himself, and begins to infiltrate his rival’s life.
The very nature of the film mandates that Cage and Travolta both play each other’s characters after switching faces. There are times when one actor has to dub over the other. In fact, the two have more screen time playing each other than the characters they’re credited playing. In fact, Cage is rumored to have initially been reluctant about playing a villain for the film, only to learn he’d technically be playing the hero.
Interestingly, the film was originally a more overt science-fiction story with a futuristic setting. This is downplayed in the final film, which was rewritten to be a more character-driven story, albeit one about full face transplants, but the film retains its surreal nature.
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2The Wicker Man (2006) - Edward Malus
The Wicker Man
Sergeant Howie arrives on the small Scottish island of Summerisle to investigate the report of a missing child. A conservative Christian, the policeman observes the residents' frivolous sexual displays and strange pagan rituals, particularly the temptations of Willow, daughter of the island magistrate, Lord Summerisle. The more Sergeant Howie learns about the islanders' strange practices, the closer he gets to tracking down the missing child.
The Wicker Manis aremake of the 1973 horror filmof the same name, this time with Cage in the lead role. Cage plays Edward Malus, a policeman who learns his ex-wife’s daughter Rowan has gone missing. Malus investigates an island housing a group of neo-Pagans. The islanders evade questions, though he eventually learns Rowan is his daughter. Malus is able to infiltrate a fertility rite where he finds and rescues his daughter, though it turns out Rowan is no damsel in distress. Malus learns too late that the whole thing is a setup, as he’s led to the wicker man.
The remake’s over-the-top story and performances, especially Cage’s, have inspired internet memes over the years. One of the most infamous involves Cage’s character being tortured with bees, which he is allergic to, and screaming, “Not the bees!!!” Other similarly memetic scenes include Malus donning a bear costume to infiltrate the fertility rite parade and his reaction to finding a burnt doll in a grave, repeatedly asking how it got burnt.
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1Vampire’s Kiss (1988) - Peter Loew
Vampire’s Kisssees Cage play Peter Loew, a self-absorbed yuppie literary agent. After he meets a woman named Rachel at a club, she reveals herself as a vampire and bites him. Loew starts to believe he is becoming a vampire himself, to the point of starting to fear the sun. The story keeps the vampirism open to interpretation. Rachel, is apparently real, but Loew’s encounter with her may have all just been in his head. Similarly, Loew claims he’s lost the ability to see his own reflection, but the audience can see it just fine.
Cage’s performance in the film is well-known and memetic. A screenshot of Cage in the film had been immortalized as the “You Don’t Say!!!” meme, which is a line Cage never actually says in the film. Even stories about the production are legendary. During one scene of the film, while in character as Loew, Cage eats a real cockroach during a closeup. This wasn’t simulated for the film, as Cagereally did eat the bug. In fact, Cage reportedly had to do multiple takes as a prank, although the first take was used in the film.
