Nicolas Cage doesn't understand why so many of his movie scenes have been turned into popular memes. The 58-year-old actor most recently starred in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, but his new film comes after a whopping 100+ motion pictures over the course of his almost 40 year career. While not all of his work is critically acclaimed, his face-- and facial expressions-- have been a staple to American cinema since his start in the 1983 film Valley Girl.
His prolific film success in the early 2000s wasn't necessarily by choice, however. The actor found himself in some financial trouble towards the middle of his career, which forced him to take on as many movies as he could to pay off debts. While not all of these movies were knocked out of the park, a few of the productions were huge box office successes. For instance, his 2004 National Treasure ended up being a smash hit in the box office, grossing $347.5 million worldwide. This movie was such a success, it even warranted a sequel (though a National Treasure 3 was never made). Appearing in so many projects meant there were several opportunities to turn Cage scenes into memes.
Now, all of Nicolas Cage's financial troubles have passed, so he spends his time only on projects that he is passionate about. His reputation as an actor has given him the opportunity to pick and choose his titles now, but it has also made him a niche internet celebrity in today's meme culture. While he is pleased with his cinematic success, according to his interview with GQ, he is still grappling with his internet fame. Check out the excerpt below:
“I still don't really fully understand what the fascination is with my face or facial expressions that happen in these memes,” he says. The studio is trying to push this promotional Walmart campaign around Unbearable Weight, he tells me, photoshopping his face on posters for other Lionsgate movies, from John Wick to Terminator 2. “I'm like, well, but why?” Cage says. “Just like, What is it?”
The internet's fascination with Nicolas Cage seems to come from a combination of admiration, familiarity, and frankly, that he does in fact have some hilarious facial expressions that he displays in his movies. While some consider his acting overdone at times, even ridiculous, hardly anyone actually dislikes him. Of course, Nicolas Cage starred in some pretty terrible movies, but that wasn't due to his acting, it was more due to his need to take on as many movies as possible to financially bounce back. Ultimately, that resulted in a hefty number of clips, stills, and lines for the internet to make into memes.
Whether he likes it or not, Nicolas Cage's newest film The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent seems to embrace his somewhat ridiculous internet fame. As he says, "I think it was a way of embracing what happened to me," likely referring to his financial crisis of the early 2000s, but potentially hinting at the internet fame he acquired from acting in ridiculous movies. Either way, he can now laugh in hindsight as his financial woes are behind him and he can use the rest of his career to take on the projects he wants and bask in the glory of being an acclaimed internet sensation. And based on early Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent reviews, audiences could be celebrating the film's arrival with more memes.
Source: GQ
