Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor. He’s a member of the Coppola family, his uncle being Academy Award winning filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola (who’s children Roman and Sofia, and granddaughter Gia are also filmmakers), his aunt is actress Talia Shire (who’s son is actor Jason Schwartzman). His stage name is taken from Marvel superhero Luke Cage.

In the 80’s, Cage starred in a variety of films such as Coppola’s Rumble Fish (1983), with Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Vincent Spano, Diane Lane, Diana Scarwid, Dennis Hopper, and Laurence Fishburne; Martha Coolidge’s Valley Girl (1983), with Deborah Foreman; Richard Benjamin‘s Racing with the Moon (1984), with Sean Penn and Elizabeth McGovern; Alan Parker’s Birdy (1984), with Matthew Modine and Bruno Kirby; Coppola’s Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), with Kathleen Turner, Jim Carrey, John Carradine, and Helen Hunt; Joel & Ethan Coen‘s Raising Arizona (1987), with Holly Hunter, John Goodman, and William Forsythe, and Frances McDormand; Norman Jewson’s Moonstruck (1987), with Cher, Vincent Gardenia, Olympia Dukakis, and Danny Aiello; Robert Bierman’s Vampire’s Kiss (1989), with María Conchita Alonso, Jennifer Beals and Elizabeth Ashley.

In the early 90’s, Cage starred in such films as David Lynch‘s Wild at Heart (1990), with Laura Dern, Diane Ladd, Willem Dafoe, Harry Dean Stanton, and Isabella Rossellini; David Green’s Fire Birds (1990), with Tommy Lee Jones and Sean Young; Andrew Bergman’s Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), with James Caan, Sarah Jessica Parker, Pat Morita, and Anne Bancroft; John Dahl’s Red Rock West (1993), with Lara Flynn Boyle, J.T. Walsh, Hopper, and Dwight Yoakam; Christopher Coppola’s Deadfall (1993), with Michael Biehn, James Coburn, and Charlie Sheen; Hugh Wilson’s Guarding Tess (1994), with Shirley MacLaine and Austin Pendleton; Bergman’s It Could Happen to You (1994), with Bridget Fonda and Rosie Perez; and Barbet Schroeder’s Kiss of Death (1995), with David Caruso and Samuel L. Jackson.

Cage received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance as an alcoholic Hollywood writer in Mike Figgis’s Leaving Las Vegas (1995) with Elizabeth Shue, before coming to the attention of wider audiences with mainstream films, such as The Rock (1996), with Sean Connery and Ed Harris; Simon West’s Con Air (1997), with John Cusack, John Malkovich, and Steve Buscemi; John Woo‘s Face/Off (1997), with John Travolta; Brian De Palma‘s Snake Eyes (1998), with Gary Sinise and Carla Gugino; Brad Silberling’s City of Angels (1998), with Meg Ryan; and Joel Schumacher‘s 8mm (1999), with Joaquin Phoenix, James Gandolfini, Peter Stormare, and Anthony Heald.

Cage earned his second Academy Award nomination for his performance as Charlie and Donald Kaufman in Spike Jonze’s Adaptation (2002), with Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper. He made his directorial debut with the film Sonny (2002), with James Franco, Brenda Blethyn, and Seymour Cassel, for which he was nominated for Grand Special Prize at Deauville Film Festival. He owns the production company Saturn Films and has produced films such as Shadow of the Vampire (2000), with Malkovich, Dafoe, Udo Kier, Carey Elwes, and Eddie Izard; and The Life of David Gale (2003), with Kevin Spacey, Kate Winslet, and Laura Linney.

He also appeared in Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), with Angelina Jolie, Giovanni Ribisi, Christopher Eccleston, Robert Duvall, Vinnie Jones, Delroy Lindo, Chi McBride, and Will Patton; Ridley Scott‘s Matchstick Men (2003), with Alison Lohman and Sam Rockwell; National Treasure (2004), with Jon Voight, Harvey Keitel, and Christopher Plummer; Andrew Nicoll’s Lord of War (2005), with Ethan Hawke, Jared Leto, and Ian Holm; Gore Verbinski’s The Weatherman (2005), with Hope Davis, Nicholas Hoult, and Michael Caine; Neil LaBute’s The Wicker Man (2006), with Ellen Burstyn; Ghost Rider (2007), with Eva Mendes, Sam Elliott, and Peter Fonda; Next (2007), with Julianne Moore; Alex Proyas’s Knowing (2009), with Rose Byrne; and Werner Herzog‘s Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009), with Mendes and Val Kilmer.

In the 2010s, he starred in Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass (2010), with Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse; Patrick Lussier’s Drive Angry (2012), with Amber Heard, William Fichtner, and Billy Burke; David Gordon Green’s Joe (2013), with Tye Sheridan; Alex & Benjamin Brewer’s The Trust (2016), with Elijah Wood and Jerry Lewis; Paul Schrader’s Dog Eat Dog (2016), with Dafoe; Inconceivable (2017), with Gershon, Faye Dunaway, Nicky Whelan, and Natalie Eva Marie; Brian Taylor’s Mom and Dad (2018), with Selma Blair and Lance Henriksen; Panos Cosmatos’s Mandy (2018), with Andrea Riseborough, Linus Roache, Ned Dennehy, Olwen Fouéré, Richard Brake, and Bill Duke; Richard Stanley’s Color Out of Space (2019), Joely Richardson, Madeleine Arthur, Q’orianka Kilcher and Tommy Chong; and narrated the documentary Love, Antosha (2019), about the life of actor Anton Yelchin, who died in 2016 at age 27.

Films in the 2020’s include Jiu Jitsu (2020), with Alain Moussi, Frank Grillo, JuJu Chan, and Tony Jaa; Prisoners of the Ghostland (2021), with Sofia Boutella and Bill Moseley; Willy’s Wonderland (2021), with Emily Tosta, Ric Reitz, Chris Warner, Kai Kadlec, Christian Del Grosso, Caylee Cowan, Terayle Hill, Jonathan Mercedes, David Sheftell, and Beth Grant; Pig (2021), with Alex Wolf and Adam Arkin; The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022), with Pedro Pascal, Sharon Horgan, Ike Barinholtz, Alessandra Mastronardi, Jacob Scipio, Neil Patrick Harris, and Tiffany Haddish; Butcher’s Crossing (2022), with Fred Hechinger, Rachel Keller, Jeremy Bobb, Xander Berkeley, and Paul Raci; The Old Way (2023), with Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Noah Le Gros, Clint Howard, Kerry Knuppe, Nick Searcy, and Shiloh Fernandez; Renfield (2923), with Holt, Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz, Adrian Martinez, and Shohreh Aghdashloo.

Cage has also voiced such characters as caveman patriarch Grug in The Croods (2013), with Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, Clark Duke, and Cloris Leachman; and the sequel The Croods: A New Age (2020), with Peter Dinklage, Leslie Mann, and Kelly Marie Tran joining the cast; Superman in the DC superhero film Teen Titans GO! to the Movies (2018), with Will Arnett, Kristen Bell, Patton Oswalt; and Spider-Man Noir in the Marvel superhero film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), with Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, Luna Lauren Velez, John Mulaney, Kimiko Glenn, and Liev Schreiber

Each review will be linked to the title below.

(*seen originally in theaters)

(**seen rereleased in theaters)

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) – directed by Amy Heckerling – credited as Nicolas Coppola
Valley Girl (1983) – directed by Martha Coolidge
Rumble Fish (1983) – directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Racing with the Moon (1984) – directed by Richard Benjamin
The Cotton Club (1984) – directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Birdy (1984) – directed by Alan Parker
The Boy in Blue (1986) – directed by Charles Jarrott
Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) – Francis Ford Coppola
Raising Arizona (1987) – Joel & Ethan Coen
Moonstruck (1987) – directed by Norman Jewison
Vampire’s Kiss (1989) – directed by Robert Bierman
Never on Tuesday (1989) – directed by Adam Rifkin – uncredited cameo
Time to Kill (1989) – directed by Giuliano Montaldo
Fire Birds (1990) – directed by David Green
Wild at Heart (1990) – Directed by David Lynch
Zandalee (1991) – directed by Sam Pillsbury
Honeymoon in Vegas (1992) – directed by Andrew Bergman
Amos & Andrew (1993) – directed by E. Max Frye
Deadfall (1993) – directed by Christopher Coppola
Red Rock West (1993) – directed by John Dahl
Guarding Tess (1994) – directed by Hugh Wilson
It Could Happen to You (1994) – directed by Andrew Bergman
Trapped in Paradise (1994) – directed by George Gallo
A Century of Cinema (1994) – directed by Caroline Thomas – himself – documentary
Kiss of Death (1995) – directed by Barbet Schroeder
Leaving Las Vegas (1996) – directed by Mike Figgis
The Rock (1996) – directed by Michael Bay
Very Important Pennis: Uncut (1996) – directed by Paul Kaye – himself- documentary

Con Air (1997) – directed by Simon West
Face/Off (1997) – directed by John Woo
City of Angels (1998) – directed by Brad Silberling
Snake Eyes – directed by Brian De Palma
8mm (1999) – directed by Joel Schumacher
Bringing Out the Dead (1999) – directed by Martin Scorsese
Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) – directed by Dominic Sena
The Family Man (2000) – directed by Brett Ratner
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (2001) – directed by John Madden
Christmas Carol: The Movie (2001) – directed by Jimmy T. Murakami
Windtalkers (2002) – directed by John Woo
Adaptation (2002) – directed by Spike Jonze
Sonny (2002) – also director
Matchstick Men (2003) – directed by Ridley Scott
National Treasure (2004) – directed by Jon Turteltaub
Lord of War (2005) – directed by Andrew Niccol
The Weather Man (2005) – directed by Gore Verbinski
The Ant Bully (2006) – directed by John A. Davis
World Trade Center (2006) – directed by Oliver Stone
The Wicker Man (2006) – directed by Neil LaBute
Ghost Rider (2007) – directed by Mark Steven Johnson
Grindhouse (2007) – directed by Robert Rodriguez & Quentin Tarantino – Segment: Werewolf Women of the SS (fake trailer directed by Rob Zombie)
Next (2007) – directed by Lee Tamahori
National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007) – directed by Jon Turteltaub
Too Tough to Die: A Tribute to Johnny Ramone (2007) – directed by Mandy Stein – documentary – himself
Bangkok Dangerous (2008) – directed by the Pang brothers
Knowing (2009) – directed by Alex Proyas
G-Force (2009) – directed by Hoyt H. Yeatman Jr.
Astro Boy (2009)* – directed by David Bowers
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) – directed by Werner Herzog
Kick-Ass (2010)* – directed by Matthew Vaughn
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (2010)* – directed by Jon Turteltaub
Season of the Witch (2011) – directed by Dominic Sena
Drive Angry (2011)* – directed by Patrick Lussier
Trespass (2011) – directed by Joel Schumacher
Seeking Justice (2011) – directed by Roger Donaldson
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012)* – directed by Neveldine/Taylor
Stolen (2012) – directed by Simon West
With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story (2012) – directed by Nikki Frakes, Terry Dougas, & William Lawrence Hess – himself – documentary
The Croods (2013) – directed by Kirk DeMicco & Chris Sanders
The Frozen Ground (2013) – directed by Scott Walker
Joe – directed by David Gordon Green
Rage (2014) – directed by Paco Cabezas
Left Behind (2014) – directed by Vic Armstrong
Dying of the Light (2014) – directed by Paul Schrader
Outcast (2015) – directed by Nick Powell
The Runner (2015) – directed by Austin Stark
Pay the Ghost (2015) – directed by Uli Edel
The Trust (2016) – directed by Alex & Ben Brewer
Snowden (2016) – directed by Oliver Stone
USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage (2016) – Mario Van Peebles
Dog Eat Dog (2016) – directed Paul Schrader
Army of One (2016) – directed by Larry Charles
Arsenal (2017) – directed by Steven C. Miller
Mom and Dad (2017) – directed by Brian Taylor
Vengeance: A Love Story (2017) – directed by Johnny Martin
Inconceivable (2017) – directed by Jonathan Baker
Looking Glass (2018) – directed by Tim Hunter
The Humanity Bureau (2018) – directed by Rob W. King
211 (2018) – directed by York Shackleton
Becoming Iconic (2018) – directed by Neal Thibedeau – himself – documentary
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies (2018)* – directed by Aaron Horvath & Peter Rida Michail
Mandy – directed by Panos Cosmatos
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)* – Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, & Rodney Rothman
Between Worlds (2018) – directed by Maria Pulera
Love, Antosha (2019) – Garret Price – narrator – documentary
A Score to Settle (2019) – directed by Shawn Ku
Running with the Devil (2019) – directed by Jason Cabell
Kill Chain – directed by Ken Sanzel
Color Out of Space (2019) – directed by Richard Stanley
Primal (2019) – directed by Nick Powell
Grand Isle(2019) – directed by Stephen Campanelli
Jiu Jitsu (2020) – directed by Dimitri Logothetis
Pig (2020) – directed by Michael Sarnoski
Prisoners of the Ghostland (2020) – directed by Sion Sono
Wally’s Wonderland (2020) – directed by Kevin Lewis
The Croods 2 (2020) – directed by Joel Crawford
Prisoners of the Ghostland (2021) – directed by Sion Sono
Willy’s Wonderland (2021) – directed by Kevin Lewis – also producer
Pig (2021) – directed by Michael Sarnoski – also producer
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022)* – directed by Tom Gormican
Butcher’s Crossing (2022) – directed by Gabe Polsky
The Old Way (2023) – directed by Brett Donowho
Renfield (2023) – directed by Chris McKay
Sympathy for the Devil (2023) – directed by Yuval Adler
The Retirement Plan (2023) – directed by Tim Brown

Share this: