Nicolas Cage is a well-known actor that has comprised many roles throughout his years on the big screen. He has been in 117 movies since his first appearance on the big screen in 1981. The special thing about Cage is he is an oddball in the best way possible, as you can never predict what his next move will be, but one thing you can be sure of is that it will be entertaining. His ability to always do something new and out of the box makes him an enigma to many.
He uses a couple unique acting methods to get into the swing of his character with full force. Some acting styles he utilizes are nouveau shamanic and Western Kabuki. Western Kabuki is about experimenting and taking risks to reach the full potential of a role. Meanwhile “nouveau shamanic is nothing other than trying to augment your imagination to get to the performance without feeling like you’re faking it” (NYT, Cage). Cage doesn’t want to look at acting as a form of lying, but rather a total embodiment of the character until he and the role are one.
Cage has many influences on his creative process. He used to have 2 king cobras for pets and Cage implemented the swaying movements that they would do into his role in “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.” In that way the pre-attacking motions of the character mirror those of the cobras. Another influence in Cage’s creative process is the effort he puts into paying homage to iconic actors and moments in film. An example is in his film “Mandy,” he shoots the camera a look that is extremely similar to the one Bruce Lee would give the camera. He likes to recreate iconic moments because he knows that they work, so while he has no shortage of taking risks, Cage also likes to stick to the tried and true.
Cage playing the character of Nick Cage (a version of himself) in his film “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent”
In the book Faith, Hope, and Carnage, Nick Cave explains how he uses his music as an emotional outlet to let some of his deepest feelings out. It can be easier to sing about emotions that are difficult to talk about because when it’s in song form, it more so seems like it’s coming from the rockstar musician persona rather than the emotionally fragile individual. In the album that Cave released after the passing of his son there were a lot of emotional and honest undertones that allowed his music to be a safe space to let those emotions come through. Likewise, even when Nicolas Cage is doing things outside of acting, he lets his emotions shine through everything he does. An example he gives in an interview elaborates on a time he went to karaoke. It just so happens that he refers to this karaoke session as “primal scream therapy.” He was upset over a recent break up he had experienced, and karaoke was a way for him to release those buried emotions. On screen, he puts real emotions behind his performances because he does not want to seem phony or unbelievable, but genuine instead.
All in all, Nicolas Cage may seem like a very “out there” kind of creative, but he tends to live separate lives. A goal of his is to maintain an enigmatic persona. He does not have any social media of any sort and he wishes to keep his private life separate from his on-screen life. This can be a challenge, especially with the rise of technology and media, but he does his best to keep a private personal life through the commotion of his high-profile, unique professional life.
Sources
https://parade.com/entertainment/nicolas-cage-marvel-role-90s-emo-superman-tim-burton-movie Cave, N., & O’Hagan, S. (2022). Faith, Hope and Carnage. Canongate.
National treasure was one of my favorite movies growing up. Nick Cage has so much energy in himself and you never quite know what he is going to do next. I think it is really funny he played himself in a movie, that is very iconic of him. Great post!
ReplyDelete'An enigma' is a great way to describe Cage. Knowing he had two cobras as a kid makes sense considering his kookiness. Other actors don't get to play heroes like he does in 'National Treasure' and then have roles like 'Leaving Las Vegas.' From your description of Nick Cave's process it sounds like he and Cage would get along. His creative process seems very focused on personality; I liked the bit about Cage feeling guilty about not being himself while acting.
ReplyDeleteI really hadn't noticed the array of things that Nick Cage has been in until I started working at a movie theater in high school. It was so surprising to me the range he had as an actor, especially due to the fact that I had a specific idea of him in my head from movies like National Treasure. Being enigmatic is such an interesting goal, and I think that he has done well in achieving it.
ReplyDelete