Nicolas Cage on channelling Andy Warhol, learning from John Woo, and possibly his wildest film yet
- The prolific actor says he was inspired by Warhol’s ‘marvellous collages’ of entertainment icons, and that Woo showed him how to stretch himself
- He defends films that go straight to video, and talks about new film Mandy and working with a Japanese eccentric
After 40 years and close to 100 acting credits, Nicolas Cage is more prolific than ever.
The Oscar winner, who turns 55 next month, was in Macau last weekend serving as talent ambassador to the 3rd International Film Festival and Awards Macao. Cage gave a masterclass, and introduced his new revenge thriller, Mandy, which opens in Hong Kong this week. He spoke to the Post about the film, which is earning him some of his best notices in years.
Born into Hollywood royalty – his uncle is Francis Ford Coppola – Cage started acting as a teenager, and immediately changed his name to avoid accusations of favouritism. He drew his inspiration from screen icons such as Marlon Brando, and particularly James Dean. “When I saw [East of Eden], I fully understood the power of film performance and said, ‘That’s what I wanna do’,” he recalls.
Heeding the advice of his aunt, Rocky actress Talia Shire, Cage veered away from naturalistic acting. “She said ‘Naturalism is a choice’, so I became a believer in something called art synchronicity, which opened the door for me to take risks,” he says.
The work of Andy Warhol was particularly influential. “He would take these iconic forces in entertainment, Jagger, Presley, and make marvellous collages out of them. I thought, how can I do that with film entertainment?”