Nicolas Cage is coming clean about his colorful career. In 60 Minutes, the actor shared that his “over-investment in real estate” just before the market crash left him in staggering debt with the IRS. This left Cage in a tight spot, forcing him to move to from Las Angeles to Las Vegas, and working on three to four movies a year.

“I paid them all back, but it was about $6 million. I never filed for bankruptcy.”

This was considered Cage’s “dark” period, taking on roles to keep himself financially afloat. This, of course, lead to a slew of poorly received movies from both critics and audiences. When asked about accusations of “phoning in” a performance, Cage defended himself and his work.

“Even if the movie ultimately is crummy, they know I’m not phoning it in, that I care every time. But there are those folks that think that the only good acting that I can do is the acting that I chose to do by design, which was more operatic, larger than life, and so called ‘Cage-Rage’ and all that. But you’re not going to get that every time.”

The “Cage-Rage” he is referring to is the bombastic performances that Cage is known for today. Those passionate, ‘over-the-top’ moments that we have all come to know and love. A notable early example is from the 1988 movie, Vampire’s Kiss, where Cage plays a man who thinks he is slowly turning into a vampire.

Cage share with 60 Minutes that German expressionism was a large inspiration for his more passionate performances, citing The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari for his infamous “I lost my hand” scene in Moonstruck. While the big roles like that were what gave him success, it was a little picture called Leaving Las Vegas that stuck with him the most.

“… this was the movie I really wanted to make. A heartbreaking drama about two wounded people who somehow have this true love.”

There’s More to Cage Than Rage

Cage’s performance in Leaving Las Vegas earned him both a Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Actor. The fame also kickstarted his new era of big budget action films, further pushing him into the mainstream. Cage is now facing another new era in his acting career. The actor announced last year that he will be more selective with his future roles, a well deserved change after so many years of nonstop acting. Cage expressed his plans with GQ.

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 is currently on the big screen as the most famous vampire, Dracula, in the dark comedy Renfield. Cage revealed earlier this year that he based his own performance on the Dracula of his childhood, Christopher Lee. But for every vampire, there is a truffle hunter, like the one Cage performs in the 2021 drama Pig. Cage has gone on to name the small movie as his favorite performance.

Whether you love him for his explosive energy, or his subtle humanity, there’s a side of Cage for everybody. Even if financial troubles landed him in such roles, there will always be something fun to look back on.