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Top 10 Nicolas Cage

Nephew of director Francis Ford Coppola, Nicolas Cage aka Nicolas Kim Coppola, changed his surname to prove himself a worthy contender in the industry, without having to rely on any family ties. With the help of the Coen brothers he burst onto the scene in Raising Arizona, and since then has remained one of Hollywood's most esteemed actors. Read his top 10 here...

His Top 10 Films

Raising Arizona (1987)

A fresh faced Cage teamed up with the Coen Brothers in the cult comedy raising Arizona. The film helped gain Cage the recognition he needed to go on and break Hollywood. On set, the relationship between the Coens and Cage was reportedly respectful but tumultuous. The actor’s suggestions were batted aside by the brothers, which Cage is rumoured to have found very hard to swallow.

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Leaving Las Vegas (1995)

Leaving Las Vegas won Cage his first and only Oscar to date. To play hardened alcoholic Ben Sanderson, Cage researched the part by visiting a number of life suffering alcoholics in hospital. He also used a video camera to film himself drunk so he could perfect his slurred speech. The film’s low budget and negligible release, was immediately turned around when the Oscar hype kicked in. After three nominations and one win, Leaving Las Vegas was re-released nationwide to critical acclaim.

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Con Air (1997)

Complete with wife-beater and shaggy main, Cage puts in a stellar performance as ex-con Cameron Poe in the action-thriller Con Air. After serving in the military, Poe is put away for manslaughter. But when his ticket to freedom comes knocking years later, on board a convict aircraft carrier, things take an unprecedented twist. Reportedly based on true events depicted in a newspaper article, Con Air is one hell of a ride and sees Cage at his action best.

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Face/Off (1997)

Face/Off sees Cage go head to head with John Travolta in John Woo’s Hollywood gun-slinging action story. Originally, muscle marvels Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone were set to star, in a futuristic Face/Off. However, having earned himself some cool points in Pulp Fiction, Travolta beat Schwarzenegger and Stallone (and rumoured to be in the running, heavyweights Deniro and Pacino) to join Cage in a modern day version of the script.

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City Of Angels (1998)

After dabbling in comedy and lending his bad-guy prowess to several successful films, Cage proved his aptitude as an actor by doing a complete one-eighty as the god-given Seth in City Of Angels. Nominated for a Golden Globe, City of Angels sees Cage couple up with golden girl Meg Ryan in a story about an Angel falling in love with a human. The film went onto to be a box office smash, grossing $200 million in theatres worldwide.

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Bringing Out The Dead (1999)

Mirrored in the film’s night-time set up, Martin Scorsese draws on the darker aspects of life in Bringing Out The Dead. Cage plays a paramedic, suffering from severe insomnia and exhaustion thanks to long nights working the graveyard shift. To achieve the nightmarish atmosphere that permeates the film, Scorsese filmed one particular scene in reverse to give the film a dream-like, fractured quality. Edward Norton was originally considered for Frank, but Cage clinched the part.

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Gone In 60 Seconds (2000)

Take Angelina Jolie’s super pout, Cage’s charisma and some very fast cars and you get the souped-up Gone in Sixty Seconds. All the cast, including Cage, Jolie, Delroy Lindo, Giovanni Ribisi, and Scott Caan underwent extensive road stunt training for the film at the Bobby Ore Stunt Driving School. The film raked in an impressive $101 million, but the A-list cast are said to have pocketed a good portion of the film’s earnings.

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Adaptation (2002)

With acclaimed director Spike Jonze at the helm, Cage delved into the world of Charlie Kaufman (who also wrote the screenplay) in a story about the screenwriter/director’s struggles to adapt the best-selling book, The Orchid Thief, into a film. Cage has since revealed that out of pure respect for Jonze, he ignored every acting instinct in his body to play Kaufman completely under Jonze’s direction. The part earned Cage an Oscar nod in 2003.

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The Weather Man (2005)

While this film received mixed reviews, it has beaten off stiff competition and made its way onto our list for one reason only - Cage’s shrewd performance as the down on his luck weatherman, David Spritz. The Weather Man sees Cage in a role which truly reflects his chameleon-like abilities as an actor, and also sees Brit star Nicholas Hoult showing off an American accent with ease. Critics have praised the film’s performances which lend to the story’s off-beat family drama.

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Bad Lieutenant (2009)

Whilst the film takes the same name as Abel Ferrara’s 1992 movie, director Werner Herzog insisted that he wasn’t fashioning a remake. In fact the director claimed that he had never even seen the original film. Whether remake or reboot, Cage turns in a performance equal to, but completely different from Harvey Keitel’s seminal take on a crazed junkie cop, and the critics responded with praise. Although Cage won Best Actor from the Toronto Film Critics Association, perhaps the disturbing subject matter prevented further gongs for one of his defining roles.

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Jennifer Trevorrow