The one Nicolas Cage movie everyone needs to see, according to Nicolas Cage
Few actors boast a career as long and varied as Nicolas Cage. From Oscar-winning dramas to action-packed blockbusters, gritty horror films to avant-garde art pieces—and even a multitude of direct-to-video features—his filmography is as unpredictable as the actor himself. Given this eclectic body of work, it might seem difficult to guess which movie Cage would recommend as his defining piece. However, when asked in 2024 which film of his he’d most want everyone to see, Cage’s response was unexpected: he chose one of his more recent projects.
In the past, when Cage was asked to name the best movies he had starred in, several films routinely popped up: Leaving Las Vegas, Bringing Out the Dead, Mandy, Bad Lieutenant, and Joe. It’s telling that none of these films are the action epics he became known for in the 1990s, such as Face/Off, Con Air, and The Rock. However, he also didn’t choose Adaptation, which landed him an Oscar nomination, or Moonstruck, which saw him nominated for a Golden Globe.
Cage’s choices perhaps hint that his work taste doesn’t necessarily align with audiences or the critical bodies operating in Hollywood. He has his own idea of what makes a movie and his performance special, and it has nothing to do with critical or commercial success. In fact, the movie he named above all others as his favourite made less than $4million at the box office and was completely ignored by the Academy.
When The New Yorker’s Susan Orlean asked what Cage would say if someone asked him, “I’ve never seen any of your movies; what should I see?” his answer was shockingly immediate. Without a hint of uncertainty, he stated, “Pig“, the quirky indie drama he made in 2021 about a reclusive former chef returning to the underbelly of the Portland restaurant industry in search of his kidnapped truffle pig. Michael Sarnoski directed it in his feature film debut, and even though the Oscars snubbed it, it did land Cage a Critics’ Choice Movie Award nomination for ‘Best Actor’.
“It’s something that I think people can get something out of because tragedy is going to hit all of us at some point,” explained Cage. “It’s just a matter of when. It’s also a movie that, to me, is like a folk song. It’s a very quiet, gentle movie, which is the opposite of what we started our conversation with—people thinking I’m crazy.”
This quote alludes to something fascinating about Cage. Even though he is arguably best known for his more off-the-wall performances and his “Cage Rage” outbursts, he sees that as just one tool in an extensive toolkit. He mused: “I think of film performance almost musically. And I want to make different kinds of sounds and put it in my music. It can be totally eclectic…But for some reason, the explosive, more operatic crescendos in the performances have made people think that’s who I am.”
A movie like Pig, then, speaks to the mellower side of Cage’s music-informed performance style. It’s a thoughtful, mournful, poetic film, and he gives a subdued performance to match. He admitted: “I’d never done anything like that before, where I felt like I got close to putting a meditation on camera, or a haiku.”
In response to Orlean pointing out that Pig is one of Cage’s most recent films, he revealed that he believes his work in the latter part of his career is “more interesting, and it’s more personal”.
He said, “I’m making the movies I want to make”, and explained that he’s been racking his brain to find ways to make each character he plays as personal to him as possible. In practice, this means bringing his own life experience, emotions, and memories to each and every part.
Ultimately, this is likely why Pig resonated so deeply with Cage and anyone who saw it: it was personal to the star and meant he didn’t “have to act too much”.
