BIOGS
NICOLAS CAGE
(Terence McDonagh)
Academy Award-winner Nicolas Cage is one of the most versatile actors of all time, equally known for his poignant portrayals in both drama and comedy. Cage last appeared in the Pang Brothers directed Bangkok Dangerous, a Lionsgate action thriller. In 2007 Cage starred in the world wide box office success National Treasure: Book of Secrets. It marked Cage’s fifth collaboration with producer Jerry Bruckheimer following The Rock, Con Air, Gone in 60 Seconds and National Treasure. His memorable performance as an alcoholic drinking himself to death in the drama Leaving Las Vegas, directed by Mike Figgis, earned him an Academy Award as well as Golden Globe. Cage further solidified his leading man status when he received Academy Award, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, and British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) nominations for his dual role as twin brothers Charlie and Donald Kaufman in Spike Jonze’s quirky comedy, Adaptation, which also co-starred Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper.
Cage finished production in October of 2008 on Werner Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans in which he plays the title role. Cage recently lent his voice for two animated features; the Jerry Bruckheimer produced G-Force and Astro. He wrapped production on the Charles Roven produced epic Season of the Witch, which filmed on location in Budapest and will be released by Lionsgate in 2010. Cage then went straight into his next feature collaboration with producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Disney’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.
In addition to the National Treasure: Book of Secrets sequel, Cage portrayed Johnny Blaze in Ghost Rider in 2007, based on the Marvel Comic book character, directed and written by Mark Steven Johnson. Cage’s other recent starring roles include that of Neil LaBute’s The Wicker Man, and Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center, both released in 2006 and Gore Verbinski’s The Weather Man and Andrew Niccol’s Lord of War released in 2005. He was also heard as the voice of Zoc in the animated film The Ant Bully.
Cage’s production company, Saturn Films, produced the 2002 Universal Pictures film The Life of David Gale, and in 2000 the critically acclaimed Lions Gate film, Shadow of a Vampire.
Cage’s many other films include Next, Matchstick Men, Windtalkers, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, The Family Man, Bringing Out the Dead, Eight Millimeter, Snake Eyes, City of Angels, Face Off, Kiss of Death, Guarding Tess, It Could Happen to You, Red Rock West, Honeymoon in Vegas, Joel and Ethan Coen’s Raising Arizona, Vampire’s Kiss, Peggy Sue Got Married, Valley Girl, Racing with the Moon, The Cotton Club and Rumble Fish. It was Cage’s portrayal of a tormented Vietnam vet in Birdy that first established him as a serious actor. Directed by Alan Parker, Birdy won the jury prize at Cannes. Cage then received a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actor for his role as Cher’s lover in Moonstruck. David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, starring Cage and Laura Dern, won the Palme d’Or at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival.
Some of Cage’s other honors include a 1993 Golden Globe nomination for his role in Honeymoon in Vegas, the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the Montreal World Film Festival in 1996, the first ever Distinguished Decade in Film Award at ShoWest in 2001 and he was honored by the prestigious American Cinematheque in 2001.
Cage was raised in Long Beach, California and lived there until his family moved to San Francisco when he was 12. Cage began acting at age 15 when he enrolled in San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theatre. He later moved to Los Angeles, and while still a high school student landed a role in the television film “The Best of Times.” He made his feature film debut in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
