A quirky movie star who's alternately admired and criticized for his over-the-top performances, Cage has enjoyed a dramatic, hit-or-miss career. Early on he was the poster child for rebellious boys (
Rumble Fish,
Racing with the Moon), but a trio of '80s romantic comedies opposite comparatively mature leading ladies proved that he could play disparate adult characters. In the neoscrewball comedy
Raising Arizona (with Holly Hunter), he was a goofy but kindhearted ex-con. The operatic
Moonstruck (starring Cher) showcased his fiery, Italian side. And his uncle, director Francis Ford Coppola, gave him free rein to inhabit both a nasal-voiced, '60s teen and a middle-aged philanderer in the time-tripping
Peggy Sue Got Married opposite Kathleen Turner. Although Cage was undeniably a star, he was an acquired taste, famous for his intense characterizations and Method-acting madness (while filming the 1989 cult film
Vampire's Kiss, he ingested a live cockroach). In the '90s, Cage moved between genres, taking on comedies (
Honeymoon in Vegas), art-house films (
Wild at Heart) and action flicks (
Fire Birds), before landing the part that finally earned him unanimous praise and myriad awards, including an Oscar: a suicidal, alcoholic writer in 1995's harrowing
Leaving Las Vegas. Instead of continuing on the serious-actor track, however, Cage reinvented himself once again, this time as an action hero in a string of big-budget blockbusters (
The Rock,
Face/Off). With his pick of projects, he seemed sometimes to choose randomly, starring in a hodgepodge of pictures. For every box-office hit (
National Treasure) or critical triumph (
Adaptation, which earned him an Oscar nod) he made three flops (
Windtalkers,
Captain Corelli's Mandolin,
Sonny, which he also directed). Yet he remained in the spotlight thanks to his prolific output and tempestuous love life, which included failed marriages to Patricia Arquette and Lisa Marie Presley. In 2004, Cage married sushi waitress Alice Kim, who was some 20 years his junior.
Nicolas Cage Fast Facts:
- A big comic book fan, he was inspired to change his last name to Cage from Marvel's Luke Cage. His son, Kal-el, was named after Superman and Cage was also instrumental in turning the Marvel character Ghost Rider into a movie.
- Nephew of Oscar-winning director-screenwriter Francis Ford Coppola, who directed him in Rumble Fish (1983) and Peggy Sue Got Married (1986).
- Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1998.
- Like the Hustons (Walter, John and Anjelica), there are three generations of Oscar winners in the family: Nicolas; his uncle Francis Ford Coppola; his grandfather Carmine Coppola; and cousin Sofia Coppola.
- Nicolas Cage Relationships:
- August Floyd Coppola - Father
- Kal-el Coppola Cage - Son
- Patricia Arquette - Ex-wife
- Roman Coppola - Cousin
- Jason Schwartzman - Cousin
- Joy Vogelsang - Mother
- Robert Schwartzman - Cousin
- Talia Shire - Aunt
- Christopher Coppola - Brother
- Eleanor Coppola - Aunt
- Kristen Zang - Ex-fiancée
- Lisa Marie Presley - Ex-wife
- Marc Coppola - Brother
- Francis Ford Coppola - Uncle
- Christina Fulton - Ex-significant Other
- Weston Coppola Cage - Son
- Alice Kim Cage - Wife
- Carmine Coppola - Grandfather
- Sofia Coppola - Cousin
- Italia Coppola - Grandmother
- Sarah Jessica Parker - Ex-significant Other
- Gian-Carlo Coppola - Cousin
- Jenny Wright - Ex-significant Other
- Nicolas Cage Awards:
- 1993 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - Nominee
- 2003 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - Nominee
- 1996 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - Winner
- 1988 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - Nominee
- 1995 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Winner
- 2002 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Nominee
- 2002 BAFTA Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role - Nominee
- 1995 BAFTA Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role - Nominee
- 2002 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture - Nominee
- 2002 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role - Nominee
- 1995 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role - Winner
- College:
- Attended American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco, CA