Shows like True Detective, Fargo and Big Little Lies helped pave the road for “movie stars” to bring their talents to the small screen, though many have yet to take the plunge. Nicolas Cage is one of those actors who has amassed dozens of cinematic roles without ever leading a TV series. But that might change soon thanks in part to Bryan Cranson and Breaking Bad’s meditative nature.
When one thinks of Cage’s career, the brain rather instantly jumps to his more overstated performances, from the gloriousness of Face/Off and Con-Air to the highly memed Wicker Man remake. He may be looking for the exact opposite when it comes to TV gigs, however, at least when one takes his words at face value.
Here’s how he addressed his potential career shift while speaking to a crowd and promoting his new movie Dream Scenario at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (via Deadline):
Now I’m thinking about television. My son turned me on to Breaking Bad, and I saw Bryan Cranston stare at a suitcase for one hour. I never get time to stare at a suitcase for an hour. I said let’s do some TV.
I think we can all agree that's an over-simplification of the work that Bryan Cranston & Co. put into the five seasons of AMC's Emmy-winning hit, even if some of the best Breaking Bad episodes do feature a healthy amount of one or more actors staring hyper-pensively at one thing or another. Sometimes it's a suitcase. Sometimes it's the ceiling as characters lie atop a bed of money.
Let's also go ahead and agree that what the world needs right now is for Nicolas Cage to deliver his own version of Walter White's most memorable moments, from the "Say my name" scene to cackling like a lunatic in a crawlspace. Is this a good task for A.I. to achieve?
In any case, even if the Leaving Las Vegas star does make a transition over to television with the quickness, it doesn't automatically mean he'll be aiming for shows like Breaking Bad. He might choose to join the next season of Chucky, the next season of NCIS or - just to speak it into the universe - a TV spinoff of any of his best movies. He may pivot completely to host a house-flipping show on HGTV.
It's worth noting that Nicolas Cag's career technically started in TV, as his first on-screen role was for the unordered 1981 sitcom pilot The Best of Times, opposite Crispin Glover. The mind reels with what could have been. Beyond that, he's hosted and appeared on SNL, and hosted Netflix's 2022 show History of Swear Words. Let's hope he lands a doozy.
Fans should definitely check out Cage in Kristoffer Borgli’s Dream Scenario, which CinemaBlend’s Sean O’Connell lauded for giving audiences one of Cage’s career-best performances along with its unique narrative. Check out the trailer below, and try not to think about it too often afterward.
While waiting to see where he lands on the small screen, check out Nic Cage's favorite Nic Cage movies to see where you match up.
