The unforgettable scene Nicolas Cage would never do again: “I still feel bad”
Some careers in the film industry can run as smoothly and as plainly as a fast-flowing gutter. Simply carrying their projects from one place to another, these are the careers and the performers that rarely live long in the memory. They might deliver the goods, but they do so unremarkably. Many words can be levied at Nicolas Cage as an accurate descriptor, but unremarkable certainly isn’t one of them.
That being said, as one of cinema’s most enigmatic and eccentric characters, it is challenging to pin down the personality of Nicolas Cage. Finely toeing the line between experimental innovator and cinematic provocateur, Cage is a celebrated actor known for his Oscar-worthy performances, yet, somehow, he is still seen in the contemporary sphere as a cult icon for B-movie schlock. It’s probably the spot Cage would most like to occupy.
Never really standing still long enough to be typecast as an action hero, leading man or comic relief, Cage has ruthlessly trod the boards of Hollywood for decades and, in doing so, amassed a career that will leave his place in the history books established for decades more to come. Despite being indefinable, there have been countless hits within his filmography.
1987’s Raising Arizona and the 1995 classic Leaving Las Vegas typify his critical acclaim, while mega-hits Gone in 60 Seconds, The Rock and Con Air showcase Cage’s more box-office-friendly side. But though his resume is full of incredible movies that are well worth watching, there is at least one he thinks you should probably avoid or, at the very least, one scene of it.
Vampire’s Kiss, from 1998, isn’t necessarily considered one of the greatest movies of Cage’s career. However, as well as providing the manic visage of Cage in your favourite meme, the film also has one particularly memorable scene as Cage eats a live cockroach. Delivered on set before CGI could help him out with a fake insect, the actor actually performed the stunt and took the life of the helpless creature, something he has notably regretted ever since.
Despite his regret, the actor admitted that it was his idea after he rejected the director’s suggestion of eating a raw egg. “I saw it as a business decision because when people see the cockroach go in my mouth… [they] really react,” he said during the film’s DVD commentary. Cage would later reveal his regret.
“I still feel bad for the cockroach,” he told The New York Times. “I can’t help it. You start trying to figure out what’s going on in their heads.” In the promotion run for Renfield, Cage elucidated further: “I think the one experience I had in Vampire’s Kiss was enough,” he said. “Every time I think about it, I’m sometimes traumatised by it, and I don’t ever want to do it again or anything like it again.”
Nicolas Cage has enjoyed an incredibly storied career. One that includes supreme highs, box office hits, critical acclaim and the odd bug-eating scene, but one thing is for sure, Cage’s career is far from the gutter.
