Nicolas Cage has done it again. This could be a daily phrase, since there is no day that the Hollywood actor surprises us with a new crazy role, a histrionic scene or a memorable moment. But now we have a compelling reason… because Nicolas Cage is going to be DRACULA.
Yes, the Leaving Las Vegas and Ghost Rider actor is set to play the vampire count himself in Renfield, a comedy film starring Nicholas Hoult and directed by Chris McKay – director of Batman: The LEGO Movie, the best Dark Knight movie ever. The trailer is out and, well, it’s everything you’d expect from the film.
Renfield, the film that turned Nic Cage into a vampire
Renfield will undoubtedly be a new crowning achievement in the career of Nicolas Cage, who we must remember that just a year ago starred in The Unbearable Weight of a Huge Talent, an action comedy whose synopsis you’d better read carefully, since you practically don’t believe it until you see it:
“The story follows actor Nicolas Cage, who is desperate to land a role in a Quentin Tarantino film. On top of that, he has a strained relationship with his teenage daughter and is up to his eyeballs in debt. These debts force him to show up at the birthday party of a Mexican billionaire who is a fan of the actor’s work in his previous films, with the intention of showing him a script he has been working on.
While teaming up with the man, the CIA informs him that the billionaire is actually a drug cartel kingpin who has kidnapped the daughter of a Mexican presidential candidate. Following this, he is recruited by the U.S. government to obtain information.”
Anyway, it is clear that Nicolas Cage’s career has changed a lot in the last two decades. He has gone from winning an Oscar and being one of Hollywood’s biggest stars to becoming an internet meme known for his eccentricity and transformed into a cult actor.
But what is the story behind this conversion, and at what point did he go from being someone respected to a recurring joke? Anyway, we’ll summarize it all below, but I must say that he’s been earning it over the years.
Francis Ford Coppola’s weird nephew
Nicolas Kim Coppola (Nicolas Cage) was born in Long Beach, California, in 1964, and somehow he was born destined to be a star. Not for nothing his uncle is Francis Ford Coppola, director of The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, and his cousin, therefore, is Sofia Coppola.
From an early age, Cage showed an interest in acting, and at the age of 15 he began studying theater in Beverly Hills. However, his true origin as an actor dates back to a car accident he suffered at the age of 18, which left him with a fractured skull and a scar on his forehead. According to Cage, the accident led him to rethink his life and seriously pursue acting.
His first film role came in 1982, when he played a rebellious young man in Valley Girl. The film was a moderate success, but it launched Cage’s acting career. Thereafter, Cage appeared in films such as Birdy, Raising Arizona and Moonstruck, which earned him critical acclaim and established him as one of the most promising actors of his generation.
But how did he go from being a big name actor to one of the internet’s most popular memes? The answer lies in his outlandish roles and unique acting style. Cage is known for his ability to overact on screen, giving himself completely to each character he plays, which has generated some of the most hilarious moments. And throughout his career he proved that he was more than just an action hero.
Nicolas Cage’s most extravagant roles
One of Nic Cage’s best remembered roles is that of Cameron Poe in Con Air (1997), an action film in which Cage plays a former soldier convicted of killing a man in self-defense. In this film, Cage steals the show with his “military” haircut, his intense stare and his famous “How do I get out of here?!” shout as he escapes from prison.
But Cage’s meme fame was cemented in 2010, when a YouTube user uploaded a video titled Nicolas Cage’s Losing His Shit, in which he compiled scenes from some of his most intense and emotional films, showing the actor screaming, crying and acting in an exaggerated manner. The video quickly went viral and became one of the most popular Internet pieces of the time.
Since then, Cage has been the subject of multiple memes and jokes on social networks. His face, his screams and his exaggerated expressions have been used to create all kinds of funny and absurd images, making him one of the most popular memes in pop culture.
Cage’s list of outlandish roles is not short, and it’s no wonder that little by little the meme has overtaken the star. We leave you with some examples:
- Corrupt Lieutenant (2009): In this Werner Herzog film, Cage plays a drug-addicted cop investigating a murder in New Orleans. Cage delivers an intense and unhinged performance, including scenes in which he dives into a fish tank to catch drugs and imagines, for example, iguanas talking to him.
- Vampire Kisses: Cage plays a New York editor who believes he has been bitten by a vampire. Cage delivers a performance bordering on insanity, including scenes in which he eats a cockroach and walks around the city wearing a bat collar.
- Ghost Rider: turned Marvel star, Cage plays Johnny Blaze, a biker who makes a pact with the devil to save his father. Cage oscillates between serious and camp, including scenes in which he transforms into a creature of fire and sings “Ghost Riders in the Sky”.
- Face to Face: In this John Woo film, Cage plays a terrorist who exchanges faces with an FBI agent played by John Travolta. Cage’s performance is full of exaggerated gestures and maniacal laughter, especially when he faces Travolta, who in turn plays his character in Cage’s style.
His performance, despite the laughs, is based on Japanese kabuki theater, by his own admission. This explains his enormous gestures and body movements in the service of the show… although it makes us wonder if he fits in well with the usual Hollywood tone.
A new Nicolas Cage
But why do we like Nicolas Cage so much? Is it just because of his ability to make us laugh? Well, maybe it also has something to do with his unique and eccentric personality. Cage is known for having quirky interests, such as collecting comic books, owning a castle in Europe and legally changing his name to “Nicolas Cage” in honor of Marvel hero Luke Cage. In addition, he has had multiple marriages and financial problems, which has generated controversy in the media.
In his last stage in Hollywood, in fact, thanks to the meme, he began to be offered interesting roles. Beyond playing himself or a vampire, he has starred in two cult horror films that have triumphed at all the festivals.
The first of these is 2018’s Mandy. In the award-winning film, Cage plays a man who seeks revenge after his girlfriend is kidnapped by a religious cult. The film is notable for its scenes of extreme violence and Cage’s overacted performance, which goes so far as to consume an entire bottle of vodka in one take. Being so in tune with the tone of the film, which seems written for him, it ends up being mesmerizing.
The other great film he has starred in lately is Color Out of Space (2019), in which Cage plays a farmer who lives with his family in a remote location and is affected by a meteorite that falls on his property, causing strange changes in the flora and fauna of the area. In this film, Cage delivers a more subtle performance than in some of his other films, but equally memorable and one that keeps us falling in love with him.
There is no doubt that Nicolas Cage is superior to everything that is happening to him. And as an example we leave you with a phrase that sums up his philosophy of life: “I’m not afraid to make a fool of myself. I like to feel alive“.
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