Nicolas Cage once embarked on a quest to find the Holy Grail. One of the most recognized actors of his time, Cage’s formidable career has spanned three decades with roles in iconic films, including Adaptation, National Treasure, Face/Off, and Leaving Las Vegas - the film that snagged him an Oscar win.
Noted for his eccentric personality, Cage has developed a reputation for his extreme method acting. Occasions of Cage diving into experiences to relate to his onscreen character have included, removing teeth without anesthesia, adapting to a steak-only diet for months, and snorting saccharine to put him in the mindset of a drug addict. The Con Air star’s quirky style of perfecting his craft has also translated to his personal life. Once considered one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors, Cage has spent his fortune on dinosaur skulls, two European castles, a pyramid tombstone, and the first Superman comic. Taking a page from Benjamin Gates in National Treasure, Cage has been drawn to ancient relics and artifacts and recently admitted to a real-life pursuit to find the Holy Grail.
The most sought-after Christian relic in popular culture, the Holy Grail is commonly identified as the cup Jesus drank from at the Last Supper. From medieval knights to Indiana Jones, hundreds of people have devoted research and efforts into finding the miraculous relic, without avail. According to EW, Cage attempted his own quest to uncover the location of the Holy Grail. After fixating on mythology, Cage developed an obsession for the grail and compares his quest to that of curating a library. Cage spoke of his adventure:
There was the time when I almost went on- you might call it a grail quest. I started following mythology, and I was finding properties that aligned with that. It was almost like National Treasure. Of course, that didn’t sustain. You read a book, and in it there’s a reference to another book, and then you buy that book, and then you attach the references. For me it was all about where was the grail? Was it here? Was it there? Is it at Glastonbury? Does it exist?
According to legends, the Chalice Well at Glastonbury is believed to be the location of the Holy Grail. The spring that flows through the well is reddish, tastes of iron, and has been speculated as resembling blood. Apparently, Cage made the trek to Glastonbury, Rhode Island, and other places across the States, but returned home void of the Holy Grail. Cage concluded of his quest, “What I ultimately found is: What is the Grail but Earth itself? The divine object is Earth.”
Cage’s career continues to have highs and lows, however, there is no denying that the actor is constantly working. Currently, Cage has numerous projects in the works including the films Primal, The Croods 2, and Kill Chain. Hunting for the Holy Grail is not uncharacteristic of the actor given his history, and has boosted conversations of the possibility of a National Treasure 3. After all, Cage has already laid the groundwork worthy of Ben Gates with his Holy Grail quest.
Source: Entertainment Weekly