Nicolas Cage needs no introduction. His performances in films like Leaving Last Vegas have been well validated by critics, and his appearances as a fan-favorite satanic antihero in Ghost Rider and as the elegant and charming treasure hunter Ben Gates in National Treasure films have made him a household name in both the US and across the world.

Cage, known for his flawless work in films of various genres and his ability to play characters of different shades and attributes, has often been labeled as one of the most versatile actors, capable of entertaining the audience by expressing unsurmountable emotions on-screen.

However, after going through a career filled with ups and downs and spanning more than four decades, Cage wishes to be as selective as he can in choosing his next films. In a lengthy interview, he gave to Gabriella Paiella at GQ, featuring in the magazine’s upcoming April edition, Cage shed some light upon the films he has loved doing in his career.

Nicolas Cage’s Love for Off-Beat Films

pig

I enjoy making movies like Pig and Leaving Las Vegas more than I enjoy making movies like National Treasure.

This one-liner says a lot about Cage’s career and how he is proceeding with it next. Cage has been a part of the industry’s most successful films and has also given some major critical failures. He has seen his share of ups and downs in a career, where his appearances were majorly limited to direct-to-video films or the ones with limited theatrical presence, such as Army of One, Arsenal Looking Glass, 211, and Between Worlds. While struggling with the impending threat of bankruptcy and getting himself back on track, Cage has been relatively inactive on the big screen besides his surprising voice casting in Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse, where just seeing his name in the credits was joyful.

Now that Cage, who turned 58 this year, is going ahead into a new phase of his theatrical career, he probably wishes to stick to the roles that have always got him in good books of the critics and audience alike.

I'm just going to focus on being extremely selective, as selective as I can be. I would like to make every movie as if it were my last.

Cage began his career in 1982’s Fast Times at Ridgemont High and went on to play several supporting roles in films like Rumble Fish, helmed by his uncle, director Francis Ford Coppola. He came to intense recognition and praise for his Oscar-winning performance in Leaving Las Vegas. Cage went on to star in several high-profile action roles such as in Face/Off, Con Air, National Treasure, and Ghost Rider, a streak he started a year before winning Oscar, in Jerry Bruckheimer’s The Rock opposite Sean Connery.

However, his most lauded roles have mostly been the ones that have been more earnest, resolute, and sincere. His films like Rumble Fish, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Raising Arizona, Matchstick Men, and Adaptation are the ones that have met with some of the best critical responses. Now, with the 2021 film Pig, Cage has gotten an opportunity to bring out his same talent on-screen. With a positive reception, Pig is being regarded as Cage’s major comeback and it’s probable that he would like to keep this praise intact and move accordingly in his career ahead.

Cage’s Big-Budget Stint

Nicolas Cage

Cage’s successful stint with Fox’s National Treasure and Ghost Rider made him an international star. And now that Disney is rebooting Fox’s properties, fans are hoping to get a pinch of nostalgia by demanding the studio to revive both the entries with Cage once again as a lead actor, further making him an Interner sensation. However, Cage doesn’t seem to be thoroughly interested in the idea. While he was clear enough that National Treasure isn’t his first choice of films from his career’s best, he also said waved away any hints that may give the audience an idea of what’s the future of that franchise, saying,

When I talk about fair-weather friends in Hollywood, I'm not talking about Jerry. I'm talking about Disney. They're like an ocean liner. Once they go in a certain direction, you've got to get a million tugboats to try to swivel it back around.

Cage’s future appearances don’t include much of big-budget projects unless you count Universal Pictures’ Renfield, where he will play Count Dracula opposite Nicholas Hoult. Moreover, he may reunite with his uncle for Megalopolis, after more than three decades since he last worked with him. Moreover, he is into celebrating his newfound success as a producer with The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, which opened to a 100% Rotten Tomatoes Score.

We don’t know if Cage would be back for films like National Treasure, given he has witnessed these same studios turning back at him, but there’s no question that his on-screen presence can do wonders for the audience, and just to see his career revive would be a treat.