I know you read the title of this article and thought to yourself, “say what?” I KNOW! It’s crazy to think that Nicolas Cage doesn’t play every character ever written because he is truly the most amazing actor ever…period. That is what you were thinking, right? Moving on…
On a side note, I happen to adore Nicolas Cage. Why? Well, I think he does something that other actors aren’t willing to do. He goes friggin crazy. YES. He goes totally off the reservation no matter what role he’s playing. For example, he could play a single dad coaching his son’s football team to the state finals. The difference? Old Nic would play him as an alcoholic with a violent temper. Why would he do this? BECAUSE HE’S NICOLAS CAGE. That’s why.
As my wife and I spent a beautiful Saturday indoors watching many Nicolas Cage classics like THE WICKER MAN and VAMPIRE’S KISS, a thought came to me. What if you took Nic’s flair for the insane and applied it to characters that actually required that approach? Would it work?
Well I have good news for you folks. I’ve spent the last month combing through my movie collection and using my feeble mind, I was able to single out 5 characters that Nicolas Cage could have played with ease. Ready? Let’s begin and please let me know what you think in the comments below. Which movies have I missed?
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5. JACK TORRANCE – THE SHINING
Now this one is a dead give-away. I can see it now. This could have been really intense. Even though Jack Nicholson played this character with frightening and legendary success, I still think Nicolas Cage could have brought some extra gifts to the table.
For example, rarely do I see a Nicolas Cage movie where he’s not throwing or breaking something (furniture, faces, basically whatever is around). When Jack blows a microchip and tries to kill his wife and kid, this technique could have been employed to further heighten the tension. This character was tailor-made for the skillset of Mr. Cage, but I think it was a little before his time. Plus, imagine Cage working with Kubrick. Ah, to dream…