One of the most popular actors on the internet is Nicolas Cage. From memes about the actor to the sales of merchandise printed with his face, Cage is pretty much unavoidable for anyone who spends any time online. He's certainly a magnificent actor who's produced more than enough great content to warrant having a large fan base, but even so, Cage is exceptionally popular online.
Recently, Cage spoke out about his internet popularity in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter. He admits that he doesn't quite understand it, as he feels there are other actors that may be more deserving of all the attention. Cage theorizes that what people are really fascinated by isn't so much his accomplishments as an actor but the unique facial expressions he's given to some of his most notable characters.
"The main thing that goes through my head is, 'Why?' There are a lot of other actors who are far more famous than I am that don’t have this. Maybe this has something to do with the characters I played and the way the internet cherry-picks facial expressions that I made the choice to do in film because I wanted to break free from naturalism. You go back to silent movie stars, German expressionism, I was trying to be abstract. Naturalism is a style, and I wanted to get more expressionistic."
Cage is aware that he's made some pretty bizarre faces in some of his films, but points out that every one of them was in line with who he was portraying at the time. The actor is never just looking to make these expressions without a reason behind it that he feels fits the character and comes with "genuine emotion."
"In movies like Vampire’s Kiss or Face/Off, these characters are larger than life and all had issues — whether it be mental illness or drug addiction or whatever. There’s an organic engine driving this behavior, and that was why I made the decision to apply myself and experiment. I can honestly tell you that whatever I designed, choreographed, or vocalized, I always made sure there was genuine emotion behind it."
Additionally, Cage suggests that perhaps the internet's fascination with these characters comes from living vicariously through them. Perhaps filmgoers are able to connect with fully unleashed characters, such as Face/Off's Castor Troy, as they're imagining themselves being able to behave in the same way.
"I think the internet’s response to it, that they’ve tapped into it vicariously, is because these characters are doing things we all want to do, but we’re too well-behaved to actually do in our own lives. We’re good citizens, but I’m fairly certain we all want to blurt something out every now and then — or chant the alphabet. In a way, it’s gratifying. Ultimately, it meant there’s a connection with the audience, and people are getting something from it. That’s positive."
Nicolas Cage Fans Should Love The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
Nicolas Cage's new movie, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, is holding its premiere at the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival in Austin, Texas. The meta film imagines Cage as Nick Cage, a fictionalized version of himself, with the actor forced to channel is various film roles in order to rescue his family. With all of the references to Cage's past work, the film is a celebration of the actor and seems to be must-see for any big fan of Cage.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is directed by Tom Gormican and written by Gormican and Kevin Etten. Along with Cage, the film stars Pedro Pascal, Sharon Horgan, Ike Brainholtz, Alessandra Mastronardi, Jacob Scipio, Neil Patrick Harris, and Tiffany Haddish. After premiering at SXSW on March 12, it will get a wide release on April 22, 2022.