Nicolas Cage
The enigmatic actor talks to Parade about life, babies and the joy of work.
Nicolas Cage has a tune stuck in his head. It’s from a Pepto Bismol commercial in which a flight crew serenades a woman with an upset stomach. Cage’s joyful croon of “Diarrhea . . .” gets everyone grinning on the Los Angeles set of his Parade photo shoot and interview.
Making everyone smile is also his goal for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (in theaters
April 22). In the edgy comedy, he plays a fictionalized version of himself, contemplating retirement when he accepts $1 million to attend the birthday party of a wacky fan. But Cage’s character gets roped into a wild CIA mission, forced to become versions of various roles he’s played. “It was a real high-wire act,” he says. “I’ve never done anything like that before.”
With more than 100 films on his résumé, that’s a big statement. But Cage, 58, has a history of tackling diverse roles. His advice for young actors reflects his life view: “Look for the truth. Don’t get stuck in a style.”
A HOLLYWOOD KID
Cage—born Nicolas Kim Coppola— grew up in the Los Angeles household of mom Joy, a choreographer and dancer, and his literature-professor father, August. His extended family includes The Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola and actress Talia Shire (Cage’s uncle and aunt) and his paternal grandfather, film composer Carmine Coppola. Among his cousins are actor Jason Schwartzman, Shire’s son, and Coppola’s filmmaker daughter, Sofia.
In spite of what might look like a wonderful “Hollywood life,” “my childhood was not perfect,” Cage says. “My mother could be a real loon sometimes.” He learned early to love escapism. “As a toddler, I would want to fall into the TV. I thought the people inside were so much more interesting than the people in my living room.” His father often took him to art-house cinemas, where he became captivated by the classic films of Orson Welles, and he devoured the Western films of Charles Bronson and the adventures of Bruce Lee. And at 15, he discovered James Dean, crediting the rebellious young actor with inspiring him to pursue a film career.
Before long, he changed his last