In entirely unsurprising news, Nicolas Cage has confessed that he believed he was an alien as a child. In a new interview with Rampstyle Magazine (via Yahoo), Cage says that he was surprised when he was taken to the doctor and it was revealed that he had human organs.
Cage has often felt like an outsider in Hollywood, despite the fact that he is a member of one of the best-known filmmaking dynasties ever, which includes (deep breath) Francis Ford Coppola, Sofia Coppola, Roman Coppola, Talia Shire, and Jason Schwartzman. In the interview, he says that his father August Coppola (brother of Francis); “told me he felt like he had to introduce himself to me because I was such an alien.”
“I was shocked the day I went to the doctor’s office as a child and I found out that I had normal organs and a normal skeleton because I was certain I was from another planet.” Cage has always had a longstanding affinity with an alien named Kal-El from the planet Krypton (and named his son after him). Cage came close to leading a Superman movie in the 1990s, with Tim Burton directing, and there are some famous photos of Cage as Supes out there.
Cage has been enjoying a renaissance period in his career recently, with the critically-acclaimed movies Mandy (2018), Pig (2021), and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022). He killed it as Dracula in Renfield, as well as two westerns; Butcher’s Crossing and The Old Way.
Cage has certainly had enormous highs and lows in his career. He immediately followed up his Oscar win for Best Actor in the mid-90s with three of the best action movies of all time – The Rock, Con Air, and Face/Off. His last critically-acclaimed performances and movies (before his recent renaissance) were probably Spike Jonze’s Adaptation (2002) and Ridley Scott’s Matchstick Men (2003). He then starred in the popular National Treasure movies.
This was followed by around a decade or more of straight-to-video movies, which was interrupted by an interesting role in off-the-wall superhero movie Kick-Ass (2010). Between Kick-Ass and Mandy, he appeared in 27 movies which are largely titles no one has heard of. But he seems to have got his groove back recently, with writers and directors giving him a chance with different kinds of material.
Check out our guide to the best alien movies, and see if you can spot (the definitely human) Cage anywhere.