Nicolas Cage is an Oscar-winning household name having built a career on movies like Leaving Las Vegas, Face/Off, Con Air, and Adaptation. Courting controversy for outlandish purchases like a dinosaur skull and two castles, Cage certainly doesn't do things by halves – and his acting choices are no exception.
There's no end to Cage's depth and nuance where overacting is involved. While this may seem like a contradiction, it's one of the only ways to describe his career. The mixture of talent and energy on display in nearly every Cage movie is impressive and unique. His style isn't for everyone, and it doesn't save every movie he's in. However, Cage is a true maverick in a Hollywood full of similarly-typed leading men.
He'll be back playing himself in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, which is out on April 22, 2022. So, from Vampire's Kiss to Mandy, here are the defining scenery-chewing Nic Cage performances.
Deadfall
This gangster-themed B-movie is one of Cage's most amateurish projects – at one point, the director doesn't even bother hiding the ceiling of the sound stage. However, Cage's brief but profoundly committed performance makes this piece a document of cinematic history as well as a terrible movie. Cage's crime lord Eddie King is a barely intelligible sketch of a bad guy who has his face pulverized on a gas stove and dies, yet somehow returns for the sequel, Arsenal. Pointless, brash, loud, and extremely physical, this is peak Cage howl-at-the-moon nonsense. The movie rapidly nosedives after the end of his bonkers performance. It shows Cage learning how to nail his late-stage cult renaissance style and single-handedly elevate a dire film.
Vampire's Kiss
From eating cockroaches to screaming the alphabet at unsuspecting therapists, Cage displays an arguably unmatched commitment to Robert Bierman's '80s psych-horror curio as a white-collar jerk who becomes so isolated he thinks he's a vampire. Ironically, Cage will be playing Dracula opposite Nicholas Hoult's Renfield in an upcoming movie. His nouveau shamanic and Western Kabuki acting styles are on full show in Vampire's Kiss, with Cage using his face and impulses to paint an ever-shifting rictus of madness and manic energy. Though his performance may be unintentionally funny at times, it highlights the level of craftsmanship, imagination, and commitment the actor has at his disposal – all while staying entertaining.
Face/Off
While Cage encountered success before Face/Off, it's the high-concept John Woo actioner that put him on the map thanks to his performance as Castor Troy and a re-faced Sean Archer. Showing the funny, desperate, tragic, and high-energy elements of Cage's acting arsenal, it's a tour de force that lets him put in a versatile, committed, and energetic performance without losing sight of Face/Off's silliness.
Mandy
Mandy is a bizarre, psychedelic take on the "you murdered my wife" revenge trope that's notable for how Cage uses his scenery-chewing. There are few more memorable sights than Cage screaming in anguish while wearing no pants and a shirt with a tiger on it. The final shot, in all its blood-spattered, wide-eyed glory, is pure Western Kabuki in motion. Cage truly does contort his face into monstrous, haunting shapes. This is him using overacting as a dramatic weapon, and it's incredible.
The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call – New Orleans
In The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans, Cage plays a cop going corrupt with a maniacal grin and a painkiller addiction. Hobbled like a gargoyle, hallucinating iguanas, and taking the opportunity to play an awful person with full-throated commitment, Cage looks almost too comfortable pulling pistols on older ladies. However, it's a towering, unrestrained performance that sees Nicolas Cage return at the peak of his considerable powers.
