Biography & trivia

*    Nicolas Cage was born on 7th January 1964 in Long Beach, California, U.S.A.

*    His birth name is Nicolas Kim Coppola but at the early stage of his career he changed his name to Nicolas Cage partly inspired by comics superhero Luke Cage.

*    His mother Joy Vogelsang was a choreographer and his father August Floyd Coppola was a professor of literature, his parents got divorce in 1976.

*    Nicolas Cage has two brothers namely Marc Coppola & Christopher Coppola.

*    Cage attended ‘Beverly Hills High School’ California,he later joined “UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television”

*    Cage made his acting debut with Brubaker in 1980 alongside Robert Redford and Yaphet Kotto, it was an uncredited role as an extra. His biggest breakthrough came through Moonstruck in 1987 alongside Cher and Olympia Dukakis for which he earned nomination for “Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy”.

*    In 1990 decade Cage worked for several hits including Honeymoon in Vegas in 1992 opposite James Caan and Sarah Jessica Parker, Leaving Las Vegas in 1995 with Elisabeth Shue and Julian Sands for which he won ‘Academy Award for Best Actor’, The Rock in 1996 alongside Sean Connery and Ed Harris, Con Air in 1997 with John Cusack and John Malkovich, Face/Off in 1997 with John Travolta, City of Angels inn 1998 alongside Meg Ryan and Andre Braugher, Snake Eyes in 1998.

*    In 2000 decade Cage appeared in blockbusters like Gone in Sixty Seconds in 2000 opposite Angelina Jolie, Delroy Lindo and Giovanni Ribisi, The Family Man with Téa Leoni, Adaptation in 2002 alongside Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper for which he earned nomination for ‘Academy Award for Best Actor’, National Treasure in 2204 alongside Diane Kruger and Jon Voight, Ghost Rider in 2007 alongside Eva Mendes and Wes Bentley, 2007 film Next opposite Julianne Moore and Jessica Biel, Knowing in 2009 directed by Alex Proyas.

*    In 2010 decade Cage worked for major films like The Sorcerer’s Apprentice in 2010 opposite Jay Baruchel, Season of the Witch in 2011 with Ron Perlman and Claire Foy,Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance in 2012 alongside Ciarán Hinds and Violante Placido.

*    Cage started dating Christina Fulton in 1988 and the couple had a son Weston Coppola Cage born in 1990. Cage later married actress Patricia Arquette in 1995 but the divorced in 2001, after the first divorce he married singer Lisa Marie Presley in August 2002 & filed for divorce in Nov 2002, Cage married former waitress Alice Kim on 30th July 2004 and the couple have a son Kal-El born on 3rd October 2005.

*    In 2009 Internal Revenue Service initiated proceedings against Cage for failing to pay federal taxes of over $6.2 million in 2007 financial year.

Interview excerpts

“Love is a very interesting emotion. It can make you crazy, it can make you happy, it can make you jealous, it can make you want to kill someone, it can make you want to cook for someone. It inspires all sorts of feelings. I’ve been drawn to romantic films which allow me to be free with the things that I do and also to purge some of the things that I feel. Love in general inspires me.”

“I’ve always had a soft spot for comic books. I learned to read from them. The words in them were so interesting.”

Filmography / all movies list