Nicolas Cage says he believes he upset Christopher Nolan and Paul Thomas Anderson by turning down roles in their films, and he thinks that’s a shame.
If you look at Nicolas Cage’s career, it’s fair to call it incredibly eclectic (even though his most famous achievement is obviously having his face printed on a throw pillow that appears in virtually every one of our videos). The American actor has appeared in plenty of B-movies—as he admitted, it was to pay off debts—but he’s also starred in films by David Lynch (Wild at Heart), Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas) and John Woo (Face/Off).
Recently, he has rebuilt his standing with a handful of independent auteur films (Dream Scenario, Longlegs) and made a strong return in the Spider-Noir series. As the black-and-white noir detective returns in a Prime Video series, the actor got a chance to revisit his career, notably reflecting on missed opportunities with two of the biggest Hollywood directors of the moment: Christopher Nolan and Paul Thomas Anderson.
Nicolas mis en Cage ?
In a lengthy interview with the New York Times, Nicolas Cage spoke about the roles he turned down over the years. He cited several big-name directors and explained why he never collaborated with them:
“Some time ago, David O. Russell offered me a film. It was a beautiful project, but I declined. Well, he’s the only director I’ve said no to who came back with something else [Madden, due for release next November, ed.]. Most of the time, they take it badly and don’t call you back. It’s happened to me plenty of times: with Christopher Nolan, Woody Allen, Paul Thomas Anderson… they don’t call back.”
“Christopher Nolan had offered me a role in Insomnia, and Paul Thomas Anderson wanted me for one of his early films but it didn’t pan out. Anyway, David, he called me back, and I think it’s really classy of him to circle back and invite me into a project again.”
Nicolas Cage in Insomnia is hard to imagine. Unfortunately, the actor didn’t specify whether the offered role was for Robin Williams or Al Pacino. In either case, Cage would have struggled to outshine their performances: even if it’s one of Nolan’s less memorable films, the cast was absolutely perfect.
As for Woody Allen, the actor didn’t mention the project he was offered. However, we know a bit more about the missed collaboration with Paul Thomas Anderson: the director showed him a short film featuring Philip Baker Hall (who later appeared in Hard Eight). So we can assume it was for that movie, or for another released soon after (for example Boogie Nights).
When you look at the list of names, it’s a shame that David O. Russell is the only one who called him back: it’s probably the weakest entry on the list (his latest film Amsterdam reinforces that idea). Let’s hope Madden, which heads to Prime Video on November 26, proves us wrong. In the meantime, you can already watch Spider-Noir on Prime Video: it’s one of Nicolas Cage’s most entertaining projects in a while.
