The classic comedy Nicolas Cage turned down to win an Oscar instead: “I wanted to do a much smaller movie”
Nicolas Cage is known for being a truly eccentric actor, or as he prefers to call himself, thespian. Few actors have had such an interesting career as his, which has seen him win an Oscar, appear in acclaimed films, and even star in a parody of himself, as well as taking on roles in a string of awful direct-to-video movies and terrible remakes. Sometimes, one of his performances will leave you deeply impressed; other times, you’re left wondering how he got the job in the first place – that’s just part of his magic and mystique.
As part of the Coppola clan, Cage changed his name early on in his career so as not to earn nepotism claims – even though some of his first roles, like Rumble Fish, The Cotton Club, and Peggy Sue Got Married, were directed by his uncle, Francis Ford Coppola. Still, he quickly proved his compelling on-screen presence, and in 1987, two films really boosted his star power in Hollywood – the Coen brothers’ crime comedy Raising Arizona and the Cher rom-com Moonstruck.
He became a frequent star of comedies and action movies, and it seemed as though Cage was down for a variety of roles that might challenge him as an actor. While he could often be seen playing humorous characters, there were times when he decided to take his craft a bit more seriously, and in the mid-1990s, he found himself winning an Oscar for ‘Best Actor’ in Leaving Las Vegas, directed by Mike Figgis.
It’s sometimes hard to believe that the same man who delivered the line “Not the bees!” in The Wicker Man remake actually won an Oscar a few years before, but Cage has truly had an incredibly varied career. Interestingly, he was offered a role that he turned down in favour of Leaving Las Vegas, which could’ve been a pretty iconic one, but he ultimately made the right decision to focus on an Oscar-winning performance instead.
The decade was dominated by Jim Carrey, with whom Cage had previously starred in Peggy Sue Got Married, and their friendship led the comedian to ask if he wanted to be his Dumb and Dumber co-star. The hit film, directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly, became wildly popular and remains one of those films that most kids find themselves watching at a sleepover and declaring the pinnacle of comedy. Whether you find the movie a terrible excuse for humour or love Carrey and Jeff Daniels’ buddy relationship as two good-hearted idiots, the film is nothing if not a ‘90s comedy classic.
Talking to The Huffington Post, Cage revealed, “Well, we talked at length about trying to do a movie together,” in reference to Carrey. He added, “In fact, he wanted me to be in Dumb and Dumber with him. And then I wanted to do a much smaller movie instead called Leaving Las Vegas.”
He affirmed that his decision to star in the latter wasn’t in the hopes of winning an Oscar, explaining that “if you go about making movies to win Oscars, you’re really going about it the wrong way.” Still, his hard work paid off, and his performance landed him a golden statuette.
In the end, it was Jeff Daniels – another actor who wasn’t exactly known for their comic chops at the time – who was drafted in to be the other half of Dumb and Dumber‘s idiotic central pairing.
