For years, getting Nicolas Cage to star in a movie was laughably simple—just ask him. If there was a paycheck involved, he was in. It wasn’t about artistic integrity or passion projects; it was about survival.
Even with an Academy Award under his belt, Cage found himself in a financial tailspin thanks to years of extravagant spending and questionable investments. Mansions, exotic animals, rare comic books—his shopping list was the stuff of legend. But when the bills piled up, the solution was clear: make as many movies as humanly possible.
Between 2011 and 2018, he churned out 31 films, a staggering output that even his most dedicated fans would struggle to keep up with. Were they all masterpieces? Hardly. While his commitment to the craft never wavered—because, let’s be real, Nicolas Cage does not phone it in—the quality of the projects often left much to be desired.
The Cage Renaissance
Thankfully, those chaotic years are in the rearview mirror. Cage has clawed his way out of financial ruin and, for the first time in a long time, he can afford to be selective. What’s emerged is a fascinating career resurgence—one that might just be the most creatively fulfilling era of his life.
But here’s the thing—Cage actually tried saying no before. It just didn’t go as planned.
The Nepotism Dilemma
Born Nicolas Kim Coppola, Cage was well aware of the weight that came with his famous last name. As the nephew of legendary director Francis Ford Coppola, he was determined to carve out his own path in Hollywood. That meant ditching the family name and embracing an identity inspired by Marvel’s Luke Cage.
Still, Hollywood is a small town, and avoiding nepotism entirely proved tricky. The real test came when Coppola repeatedly asked him to star in Peggy Sue Got Married, the 1986 dramedy about a woman who time-travels back to high school.
Cage wanted nothing to do with it.
“I must have said no five or six times,” he later told The New York Times. “I said, ‘Uncle, why do you want to make this movie at all?’ He said, ‘It’s like Our Town!’ By the way, I couldn’t stand Our Town.”
But Coppola wouldn’t take no for an answer.
The Ultimate Sabotage Attempt
Realizing he was being forced into the role, Cage devised a master plan: if he had to do Peggy Sue Got Married, he was going to make it as weird as possible.
“I said, ‘Look, I’ll do it if you let me go really far out with the character,’” Cage explained. “‘How far out?’ ‘I want to talk like Pokey from The Gumby Show.’”
And that’s exactly what he did.
At rehearsals, Cage arrived with his bizarre Pokey-inspired voice, a nasally, cartoonish drawl that immediately rubbed his co-stars the wrong way. Kathleen Turner, who played Peggy Sue, was particularly unimpressed.
“Everybody was rolling their eyes,” Cage admitted. “Kathleen Turner was very upset. It did not go over well.”
Coppola, however, reluctantly let it slide. But in hindsight, he regretted the decision so much that he never worked with Cage again.
The Legend Lives On
Despite all the chaos, Peggy Sue Got Married turned out to be a hit, and Cage’s bizarre performance became the stuff of Hollywood folklore. It was a rare case where even sabotage couldn’t stop him from leaving an impression.
Now, with the freedom to choose his own projects, Cage is leaning into the eccentricity that made him a cult icon in the first place—only this time, he’s doing it on his own terms.
