Nicolas Cage has made a lot of major movies that have done wonders for his career, including Raising Arizona, Moonstruck, the National Treasure movies and more. But then he had a period during the 2010s where his career hit a snafu doing a lot of direct-to-video films that Cage compared to a “rock album where most of it is crap.” If you’re wondering why this Oscar winner took on some “crummy” roles in the past, he gave his most candid answer.
Audiences have seen a lot of different sides to Nicolas Cage, with his most Nic Cagey roles showing off his “Cage rage” and “operatic” over-the-top performances that make this talented actor stand out. But his period of direct-to-video movies didn’t bring out the trademark persona that audiences anticipated seeing. In CBS News’ 60 Minutes segment, the Renfield actor spoke about why he couldn’t afford to be choosy with his past roles.
I was over-invested in real estate. The real estate market crashed, and I couldn’t get out in time. I paid them all back, but it was about $6 million. I never filed for bankruptcy.
According to CNBC, Nicolas Cage once owned 15 residences, including two castles in Europe, with one costing $10 million and the other $2.3 million. He even bought one of the most haunted houses in the US, the infamous LaLaurie mansion located in New Orleans, for $3.4 million. No wonder Renfield was the perfect role for this castle owner. If his own Dracula solo movie ever happens, Cage may need to reside in these castles for just a bit longer to get more into character.
Even if Nicolas Cage’s worst movies didn’t hit well with audiences, it doesn’t mean he regretted making any of them. In fact, he said Cage loved eight of his most recent movies, which included The Trust and The Runner despite the negative reception they both got. The actor continued to argue that those “crummy” roles actually saved him after the real estate market crashed.
Work was always my guardian angel. It may not have been blue chip, but it was still work. Even if the movie ultimately is crummy, they know I’m not phoning it in, that I care every time.
This is referring to the time when Nicolas Cage was accused of “phoning in” roles before he achieved debt-free status. He argued that he cared about each role he was playing. That said, probably because the Ghost Rider actor owed a lot of money to the IRS and was trying to take care of his mentally-ill mother, he could have decided to take any role that was being offered to him. Plus, most actors are just grateful that there’s work out there for them instead of choosing the role that could potentially land them their next Oscar. With highly positive films he’s done as of late like Pig (which he described as his favorite role) and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, it looks like we’re getting the Nic Cage that audiences remember.
No matter how ill-received Nicolas Cage’s roles have been during his VOD period, he theorized that “film enthusiasts” have stuck with him for over four decades because of how impressed they were with the strong emotions he conveyed in his characters. So this proves that whether he stars in a good or “crummy” movie, this actor will still have plenty of fans there to cheer him on. You can watch the 2023 movie release of Renfield in theaters now.
