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Nicolas Cage picks the best movie he’s made, and he might be right

The man himself lists the best Nicolas Cage movies, and his choices show a wide range of his performances, but the number one spot is definitely a surprise.

Nicolas Cage in Mandy

Some of the best movies of all time owe no small debt to Nicolas Cage. The man’s known for his wild performances, often quite daring and out there. During a recent interview, he noted what he thinks are the best Nicolas Cage movies, and his picks hold plenty of water.

On the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, he was asked to list his top five, and number one’s a recent hit. “I’m going to start with Pig, that’s my favorite movie I’ve ever made,” he says. “I love Mandy, the movie Panos Cosmatos directed. I love Bringing Out the Dead, which Martin Scorsese directed, and I loved Bad Lieutenant, which Werner Herzog directed. And I loved a movie called Joe that David Gordon Green directed.”

Pig is a recent drama movie, coming out in 2021, that saw Cage show his more understated side. He played Rob, a former chef turned truffle farmer whose beloved pig is kidnapped. He then re-enters normal society to get it back, a bit like a John Wick movie but with way less bullets.

Cage’s performance is impressive, demonstrating his range beyond big action movies and such. A couple of the other choices, like horror movie Mandy, and Joe, are within the last decade.

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Bringing Out the Dead is one of the best ’90s movies, and Bad Lieutenant came out in 2009. Cage covers a large chunk of his career in that answer, though not stretching back into the ’80s movies he did, working with David Lynch and such. That said, it speaks to the career he’s had that such great work is in the recent past.

Check out our new movies list to see where he might pop up next, and our list of the best thriller movies will give you more top viewing.