Nick Cave shares his favourite memory of being mistaken for Nicolas Cage: “A persistent and somewhat perplexing confusion”
After Nicolas Cage recently revealed that he gets mistaken for Nick Cave almost daily, the Australian musician shared his favourite memory of when a fan believed him to be a Hollywood star.
During a recent interview with The Guardian, Cage shared: “I don’t think there’s a day that goes by where I’m not mistaken for Nick Cave. People also say: ‘Hey, Nick, you were great in The Hunger, ‘which is this great David Bowie movie [in which Cage doesn’t feature]. I do remember that Cave was very nice.”
Cage then revealed that he met his near namesake on one occasion, which occurred in a very unlikely setting, recalling, “We were at an animal sanctuary, I believe – I think Sealy Animal Hospital in Texas – and he was terrific. I said hello and wanted to shake his hand. I said: ‘Only one letter separates us – G. Nick Cave, Nick Cage’.”
In 2022, Cave used his Red Hand Files newsletter to discuss the case of mistaken identity, admitting, “People mix me up with Nicolas Cage all the time.” While he admitted that “sometimes it can be a bit of a pain in the neck,” Cave acknowledged that “you get used to it,” and it doesn’t particularly irk him anymore.
Now, in the latest edition of his newsletter, Cave has revisited the topic. Although he describes the matter as a “persistent and somewhat perplexing confusion surrounding our names”, it did lead to one highly amusing evening in a São Paulo bar during the 1990s.
Cave recalled: “He introduced himself to me. ‘I’m Diego,’ he said. As he asked me my name, the barman leaned over and said to him, “Dude, you’re talking to fucking Nick Cave!” Diego suddenly became super-animated, jumping around on his stool, saying that he loved me, that he was my greatest fan, and so on and so forth.”
The duo then spent a couple of hours “getting completely pissed” but it took a sombre turn when “Diego started to turn maudlin”. Cave then explained that he had asked Diego why he was upset, which led to him revealing that his wife had thrown him out because she thought he was stupid. He continued, “Then he pointed at me and said, ‘But she fucking loves you. Just completely loves you.’ I said, ‘Really?’ He replied, ‘Yeah, Peggy Sue Got Married is her favourite film. She’s watched it like a hundred times.'”
The Bad Seeds leader added: “Then Diego started crying again. I was about to explain that he’d made a mistake and mixed me up with the actor, Nicolas Cage, but he looked up at me with such a pitiful mixture of tragedy and wonder that I didn’t have the heart.”
Cave then pretended to be Cage to console Diego, and admits, “I began to warm to my theme”. He told his new friend that “making Raising Arizona was the most extraordinary experience”, insight into working with John Goodman, and why Hollywood is a lonely place that isn’t what it’s cracked up to be.
The Australian musician declined Diego’s offer to “come home with him and put in a good word”, but did write a note to his wife, which read, “Dear Ana, Diego is not stupid. He’s a good guy. Love, Nic Cage.”
Following Diego’s departure from the bar, Cave recalled, “The barman leaned over and said, ‘His wife’s got a point.'”
Cave concluded his newsletter by writing: “Anyway, these confusions between me and Mr. Cage happen fairly often. But I don’t mind. I’m a fan. Have you guys seen Mandy? My God. What a film.”
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