Nicolas Cage

[B]Whether you despise him, adore him, think he’s a hack, or view him as some kind of clownish caricature—you just can't deny the man's raw talent.
When he's actually dialed in, there isn't a role on the planet he can't absolutely crush. The real issue is that he hasn't been truly "in the zone" for about 15 years now, barring a few standout performances.

In your opinion, what is the absolute best performance of Nicolas Cage's career?[/B]

"If you actually want to be a great actor, you have to start acting like a criminal—you’ve got to be willing to break the rules and constantly hunt for the next big challenge," he says.

Nicolas Cage

The charismatic actor with those heavy, weary eyes was actually born Nicholas Kim Coppola. Being the nephew of the legendary Francis Ford Coppola, he always felt like his last name was more of a weight than an asset. He’s mentioned before that he had to change it just to break free in his own way and prove he could actually make it in Hollywood on his own merits. Since he’s a massive comic book nerd—he’s even said they’re basically the modern version of mythology—it makes sense that he looked to that world for inspiration. He took a cue from one of the Marvel heroes, Power Man (Luke Cage), and that’s how we ended up with the name Nicolas Cage.

His childhood was anything but easy. Growing up in Long Beach, California, he dealt with a lot of instability; his mother was frequently hospitalized due to severe depression, and those constant family crises eventually tore his parents apart. Between that divorce and the usual teenage rebellion, he spent most of his adolescence feeling lost and like he didn't quite fit in anywhere. He actually started out studying acting, but he ended up dropping out of school early. By seventeen, he was working the popcorn machine at a cinema in Fairfax. At the time, he was pretty discouraged, convinced that selling snacks was the ceiling for his career in the film industry, but things shifted when his uncle Coppola stepped in to help him out.

His film career kicked off back in 1983. He landed a role in his uncle's movie, Rumble Fish, and actually proved he could deliver. It turned out he had genuine acting chops, though people couldn't stop making jokes about his name. To move past that, he changed it and headed to an audition for Valley Girl, where he snagged the lead. Playing a troubled punk rocker earned him his first real paycheck—about $5,000—and effectively laid the groundwork for his entire Hollywood career.

Following that, in 1984, he teamed up with his good friend Matthew Modine for *Birdy*, an Alan Parker war drama exploring how the Vietnam War left its mark on American soldiers. He actually went as far as knocking out one of his own teeth just to make the performance feel more authentic. From there, he moved into roles in *Peggy Sue Got Married* and then *Moonstruck*. In that last one, he shared the screen with Cher, which really served as his first genuine breakout hit at the American box office.

Cage once remarked that Hollywood couldn't quite figure him out—whether he was actually an actor, a complete lunatic, or just one of those eccentric characters he played on screen. He’s always had this slightly offbeat, wild image that sets him apart. You can really see that specific brand of weirdness and his unique sense of humor shining through in movies like Raising Arizona and Wild at Heart. He basically cemented his cult status during the filming of Vampire's Kiss, specifically because he actually ate a live cockroach. Honestly, that isn't even the first time he's done something totally unhinged on set; he’s notorious for improvising, which I imagine drives his fellow cast and crew absolutely crazy.

He kept leaning into comedies, which eventually led him to take a part in Andrew Bergman's Moonstruck (1992), where he shared the screen with Sarah Jessica Parker. Not long after that, he pivoted toward heavy drama in Mike Figgis's Leaving Las Vegas, playing an alcoholic writer on a path toward suicide. It was a hell of a shift. His performance there was incredibly subtle and layered; he managed to weave this unexpected warmth and sense of humor into a pretty dark character. That role ended up snagging him the Oscar for Best Actor in 1995.

After picking up his Oscar, Cage decided to pivot his whole image, rebranding himself as an action lead. By knocking out three massive blockbusters back-to-back, he basically carved out a spot in that heavyweight tier alongside guys like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Harrison Ford. He kicked things off in 1996 with *The Rock*, playing this high-strung FBI agent who teams up with the only guy ever to break out of Alcatraz—played by Sean Connery—to save millions of innocent lives. From there, he jumped straight into *Con Air* in '97, and later that same year, he tackled *Face/Off*, where he and John Travolta get caught up in that intense, high-stakes game of identity swapping and psychological warfare.

After that, he took a breather from the action flicks to star in the romance 'City of Angels' (1998), before diving back into intense thrillers the same year—think 'Snake Eyes', the dark but legendary '8mm' (1999) by Joel Schumacher, and Martin Scorsese's 'Bringing Out the Dead' (1999). By the early 2000s, he landed a massive hit with 'Gone in 60 Seconds', featuring Angelina Jolie, though he hit a bit of a slump shortly after with projects like 'The Family Man' (2000), 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin' (2001), and 'Windtalkers' (2002), which didn't exactly win over critics or audiences.

He really found his footing again with Spike Jonze's comedy-drama 'Adaptation', where he played a fictionalized version of real-life screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (along with an imaginary twin brother) struggling to turn a bestseller into a script. That performance earned him his second Oscar nomination in 2002. Interestingly, that same year he tried his hand at directing with 'Sonny', though the critics weren't exactly kind to it.

In 2004, he stepped into the shoes of Ben Gates for the blockbuster 'National Treasure', embarking on a high-stakes treasure hunt. The following year, he played Yuri Orlov in 'Lord of War', portraying an arms dealer traveling the globe while running from both external threats and internal demons. While the film itself was polarizing, everyone agreed his performance was top-tier. He also picked up praise for the comedy-drama 'Matchstick Men' (2005) and pulled at a lot of American heartstrings in the 2006 drama 'World Trade Center'. That same year, he appeared in a remake of the 1973 classic 'Dirty Harry', playing a cop investigating a disappearance.

2007 turned out to be a pretty big year for Cage. Even if the critics weren't fully on board, both of his major releases seemed poised to crush it at the box office. In 'Ghost Rider', he plays a skeleton riding a motorcycle to collect sinner souls, and in his follow-up, 'National Treasure: Book of Secrets', he returns to familiar territory for another wild adventure.

On the personal side, he’s been married three times—first to Patricia Arquette, then to Lisa Marie Presley, and now to Alice. He has a son, Kal-El, born in 2005, who will eventually get to hang out with his older brother, Weston Coppola Cage, from his relationship with Kristina Fulton.
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Source: http://www.filmski.net/dossier/363/nicolas_cage

For me, his performance in Bad Lieutenant is easily his strongest work.

From an acting standpoint, his Oscar-nominated role was probably his peak. But honestly, it’s not even my favorite movie of his.
😬Face/Off is just top-tier
Whenever I see Gone in 60 Seconds, it always brings back some good memories.

He's one of those Hollywood legends where his charisma and eccentricity actually outweigh his actual roles. It's pretty interesting, though—someone that wild hasn't been linked to any of that #metoo crap. I guess that says enough about the civilized Hollywood facade that usually hides all the monsters.

Snake Eyes and Matchstick Men—those are the kinds of flicks that actually click with him. Everything else he puts out? Just total garbage.☕

My top 3 NC performances:
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1. Matchstick Men (2003)

- This is Cage at his absolute wildest as the con artist Roy Waller. It’s a flawless performance. You can really see all those nervous tics and that frantic energy coming through perfectly.

2. Face/Off (1997)

- He manages to play the hero, the villain, and everything in between here. Personally, I was more drawn to him during those first 30 minutes playing Castor Troy, though he’s just as good as Sean Archer.

3. Bad Lieutenant (2009)
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- I have to agree with the crazy guy in the post above. Cage absolutely kills it as this broken, selfish, drugged-out, and completely corrupt cop. And apparently, being that kind of trash still gives you the luxury of choosing between Eva Mendes and Fairuza Balk.

Just take a look at the lineup of women Cage has shared the screen with throughout his career😢in leading roles
Holly Hunter, Cher, Maria Conchita Alonso, Bridget Fonda, Elizabeth Shue, Monica Potter, Genevieve Gabor, Meg Ryan, Carla Gugino, Catherine Keener, Patricia Arquette, Angelina Jolie, Teri Hatcher, Diane Kruger, Eva Mendes, Jessica Biel, Claire Foy, Amber Heard, January Jones, Nicole Kidman, Vanessa Hudgens...

And don't forget adding absolute legends like Meryl Streep, Ellen Burstyn, and Shirley MacLaine to that list.

Nick is the man👍.

He’s honestly one of my all-time favorite actors 👍. I still vividly remember the first time I sat down to watch Wild at Heart and Red Rock West; I was just completely floored by him. The guy is a total powerhouse—he just seems to nail every single role he touches, whether it’s Kiss of Death, 8 mm, Matchstick Men, Con Air, Vampire's Kiss, Snake Eyes, or Face/Off... honestly, the whole filmography is gold. 😒

There’s this one part in Red Rock West right at the start where he’s shaving in front of his car out in the middle of nowhere, fixing his hair just before a job interview, and then later on
he does that effortlessly cool move where he orders a black coffee and lights up a cigarette at the bar—it’s just perfection! 😁

Without a doubt, his best work is Matchstick Men.
It’s the role of a lifetime and easily the peak of his career.

His biggest issue is just this incredibly grating, over-the-top hamminess; he totally misreads what his role in a movie should even be.

And don't even get me started on the directors who actually let him get away with it.

I honestly think things are going to go absolutely off the rails if this actually turns into Tiger King 🙏

For what it's worth, my personal favorite has always been Adaptation 👍

If you ask me, the absolute standout has to be Trapped in Paradise.

It’s honestly tough to pin down which one of his films hits the hardest.
I didn't end up voting for Lord of War, though—
but his performance in something like Con Air or Face/Off is arguably even more impressive,
and Gone in 60 Seconds is definitely a solid contender too.
If we’re talking recent stuff, Bad Lieutenant might be his best work.
He’s also great when he’s playing that scientist uncovering some massive national treasure—even that bit in Snowden where he calls the whole thing a real Enigma.
Then there's that moment where he's just playing some baker in a undershirt... 😁

I love him. Vampire's Kiss is a perfect example of his genius. And in those thrillers, like Con Air, he gives so much that the movies become total cult classics. Oh, and then there's Malkovich.

Bringing Out the Dead
It’s actually brilliant
I recently sat down and watched Vampire's Kiss
What a Bad Boy... he played the part perfectly

Patrick Martin said:His biggest issue is that irritatingly over-the-top acting—he just seems to misinterpret his own roles...

Not to mention the directors who let him get away with it.

+1

Honestly, I can't even watch him. I haven't sat through one of his movies in years...

He’s definitely an actor who can come off as a bit full of himself, almost like he feels the need to be the biggest star in every single scene. I guess it makes sense why he lands lead roles in movies that feel just as over-the-top as he is. He was probably at his absolute best back when he was a younger actor—I mean, films like >, >, >, or even > were pretty solid... He’s got a huge filmography with some real gems in there, though I suppose there's plenty of trash mixed in too. As for the main one, I wasn't exactly blown away.

Honestly, most people around here seem to see it the exact opposite way.
There are certainly some interesting movies and performances in there—bordering on trashy in spots, though I can't quite pin down which specific title fits that description perfectly.
For instance, I really went into > expecting something a bit more substantial, something deeper... but it just didn't hit the mark for me.

The poll needs a whole new category: "I can't stand looking at his ugly face."

☕

Honestly, such a fantastic movie.