Nicolas Cage reveals the four directors he would love to work with
As the nephew of Francis Ford Coppola, the acclaimed director of The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, Nicolas Cage enjoyed a nepotistic leg up in his early rise to success. However, his road to success wasn’t without its setbacks, and he still had to prove his talent. Notably, Coppola politely declined when Cage requested consideration for a role in 1990’s The Godfather Part III.
Despite being born into a position of opportunity, Cage had a tough graft through the 1980s as he clambered to prominence. Since then, he has portrayed an impressive range of characters, securing a deserved position among the most acclaimed actors of his generation.
In the mid-1980s, following formative appearances in the teen comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Coppola’s Rumble Fish, Nicolas Kim Coppola employed the stage name Nicolas Cage. Although relations never turned stale between Cage and his famous uncle, he chose to drop the Coppola name in hopes he could focus on a career away from family connections.
During a 2022 conversation with Wired, Cage revealed that, while on set filming Fast Times at Ridgemont High, “people would not stop saying things like, ‘I love the smell of Nicolas in the morning,'” in reference to the classic Apocalypse Now quote, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.” Cage explained that this mocking “made it hard to work, and I said, ‘I don’t need this,’ and changed it to Cage.”
Since then, Cage’s talent has attracted some of Hollywood’s most venerated and creatively attuned filmmakers, including Spike Jonze, Joel Schumacher, Michael Bay and Sir Werner Herzog. Cage’s taste for cult comedy and wild, vampiric horror movies has endeared him to a host of eccentric and esoteric filmmakers over the years, but he still enjoys a run in the mainstream.
Although Cage has racked up a filmography of admirable range and eminence, he still has a few dream collaborations. In a 2022 AMA session on Reddit, the actor was asked what directors he would like to work with whom he hasn’t yet.
“I would love to work with Christopher Nolan,” he replied, revealing his love for the Inception mastermind. “I would love to work with Ari Aster, I would love to work with Robert Egger. Spike Lee, too.”
Only time will tell if Cage makes any of these wishes a reality. Until then, enjoy this movie clip from 1988’s Vampire’s Kiss, in which Cage ate a real live cockroach.
