Nicolas Cage wants to make a few things very clear.
“There is a misperception, if you will, in critical response or even in Hollywood, that I can only do exaggerated characters. Or what they call over-the-top performances,” he said in an interview with The Guardian. “Well, this is completely false. Another misconception about me is that I just do movies to pay checks. That I’m obsessed with comics. The other big misconception, which needs to be cleared up in my opinion, is video on demand. For a while there, it was the three Cs; castles, comic books and cars. I just can’t get that stuff off of me.”
Maybe interviews like this one will help Cage dispel the goofy-action hero persona he’s taken on. His opinions about video on demand come from the fact that his new movie, The Frozen Ground, will be available on demand. Cage wants the world to know that this doesn’t mean the movie is a failure.
The actor was also open about his desire to be taken seriously as an actor. “I’m at this point where I don’t want to act,” he admitted. “It’s not about putting things on, it’s about taking things off. And trying to be as naked as I can be as a film presence. I would rather be a performer than an actor. Acting to me implies lying. ‘He’s the greatest actor in the world’ is like saying, ‘He’s the greatest liar in the world.’ To perform, in my opinion, is more about emotion.”
Cage also stated that his acting style works effectively in allowing him to become his characters.
“I invite the entire spectrum, shall we call it, of feeling. Because this is my greatest resource as a film actor,” he explained. “I need to be able to feel everything, which is why I refuse to go on any kind of medication. Not that I need to! But my point is, I wouldn’t even explore that, because it would get in the way of my instrument. Which is my emotional facility to be able to perform.”
Well, that clears that up.
