Whether you love or hate Nicolas Cage, there’s one undeniable fact that you have to admit – he’s damn watchable.
No other actor quite straddles that line between ham-acting lunatic and respected Academy Award winner.
You never know what he’s going to do next and it’s hard to tell whether he’s actually, genuinely crazy or some kind of acting super genius – and that’s why we love him!
Here’s seven of his greatest on screen moments…
Gone In 60 Seconds – Lowrider Scene
DisneyIn this largely forgettable Bruckheimer car-porn vehicle (see what I did there?), a blonde Nicolas Cage – playing the totally believably named character of Aldo Raines – and a gang of cohorts, including Hackers-era Angelina Jolie and ‘actor’ Vinnie Jones, must steal 50 cars in one night!
Unlike real life joyriders, they don’t read Max Power magazine, listen to Hard House or shag each other on bonnets, but they do psych themselves up for car theft – in particular, by listening to the song ‘Lowrider’ in a kind of weird awkward huddle at the behest of Nicolas Cage.
In the pantheon of Cageisms, this is quite vanilla but it gets the ball rolling nicely.
Con Air – Put The Bunny Back In The Box
DisneyAnother Bruckheimer production, another weird hairdo and another batshit mental premise, we’re in prime Cage territory here!
Although Cage has to downplay Cameron Poe a little in this film on account of being surrounded by scene stealers like Danny Trejo and John Malkovich, he still maintains some semblance of Cagery by saying weird shit in a bad southern accent that still kind of works.
Let’s face it, nobody but Cage could deliver this line and get both laughs and gasps.
Deadfall – Am I A Retard?
Trimark PicturesI really can’t add anything more to this clip, I mean…it’s just perfect.
Imagine any other actor doing this. That’s right, you can’t! No other actor in the history of cinema would be as brave/shit/mental to even try this.
I’ll shut up. Just stop what you’re doing and watch it!
Vampire’s Kiss – Alphabet
Hemdale Film CorporationCheck this out for the premise of a Nicolas Cage starring vehicle and tell me it doesn’t make you just want to stop what you’re doing and watch it immediately – a mentally ill executive gets bitten by a vampire and goes on a rampage in an attempt to kill himself.
Erm, yes please!
This is #PeakCage right here, featuring the man at his most insane.
My personal favourite is the scene where he recounts the alphabet to his scared therapist, and in doing so, puts more emotion into stating the fucking alphabet than most actors display on the big screen in their entire careers.
Matchstick Men – No Meds
Warner BrosIn Ridley Scott’s Matchstick Men, Cage is supposedly an OCD sufferer.
And not the cutesy tidbit shared on the first date sort of OCD where you have to wipe your arse front to back three times or the world will collide with the sun, the proper uncomfortable and debilitating sort of OCD.
For much of the film, Cage is alright and just his usual quirky self, but at one point he loses his meds and, well, I’ll let the clip reveal how it goes from there…
The Wicker Man – Not The Bees
Warner BrosNormally, I hate remakes and think they’re pointless wastes of time, but the remake of The Wicker Man has one thing other remakes don’t have – Nicolas Cage!
Face/Off – Hallelujah
ParamountHands down the best, silliest, funniest action film ever made.
Serial ham artist John Travolta and the Cagemeister general go toe to toe to be the most over the top actor in the world.
My favourite scene is pre-face swap when Cage is still playing Castor Troy in disguise as a priest so he can plant some explosives.
Any real world terrorist would be about three Xanax deep just so that their heart doesn’t jump out of their mouth, but is that the sort of real-world emotion that Cage decides to channel in the scene? Fuck is it. Instead he prances about provocatively, headbangs, and then sexually assaults a chorister – and all before the credits have even finished rolling.
