12 Facts That Prove Why People Can’t Get Enough of Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage is undoubtedly one of the most misunderstood movie stars of this generation. His talent has never been up for debate, since his work speaks for itself, but his personal life choices are always being discussed. We believe that he is a truly unique human and terrific actor whose life has always been way too interesting for this world.

1. He almost played Superman in the 90s

Superman Lives was supposed to be directed by Tim Burton and produced by Jon Peters, while Nicolas Cage played the main role. There were so many rewrites and redesigns during the 1990s that eventually the film was pulled from production. In 2015, a documentary was created in order to talk about all the reason why the film was never completed. If it had, Cage’s career path could have been very different and the character of Superman might have been morphed very differently.

2. He spent almost $300,000 on a dinosaur skull.

In 2007, Cage participated in an auction where he eventually bought a dinosaur skull for $276,000, outbidding Leonardo DiCaprio. However, in 2014, he was asked to return the skull since it was found to be stolen. Of course, neither Cage nor the gallery had any idea of this, and there was no legal action taken against them. The skull had been taken illegally from Mongolia and after Cage gave it back — authorities made sure it was returned.

3. He had to publicly deny that he is a vampire

In 2012, there was a crazy conspiracy that Cage was a vampire after a photo of a man from 1870 went viral. People noticed the striking resemblance between the random man and Cage and started making rumors. The actor had to go to David Letterman’s show and deny publicly that he is a vampire. He said that “Now look, I don’t drink blood and the last time I looked in the mirror I had a reflection.”

4. He wants to be buried in a pyramid when he passes away

The actor purchased a pyramid tomb in a New Orleans graveyard so he can be buried there when he passes away. The pyramid sticks out like a sore thumb at 9 feet tall with the Latin phrase, “Omnia Ab Uno,” or “Everything From One.” Cage has never explained why he chose this pyramid as his final resting place.

5. He was almost cast as Willy Wonka

When Tim Burton was developing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, there were many actors considered for the role. One of them was Nicolas Cage, who seemed like a very interesting and out-of-the-box choice for Burton. However, he went with the more obvious decision of Johnny Depp, who is often the eccentric star of Burton’s many films.

6. He was once married for 4 days

In 2019, Cage married his makeup artist girlfriend, Erika Koike, in Las Vegas. However, only 4 days after the wedding, he filed for an annulment, stating that he wasn’t capable of knowing what he was doing. The divorce was finally issued about 2 months after his initial petition, which officially ended his fourth marriage.

7. He ate a live cockroach

In the original script of Vampire’s Kiss, Cage’s character was supposed to suck a raw egg in his madness. However, he and the director of the film thought that this was nothing special, and Cage suggested they used cockroaches instead. The creatures have always been his biggest fear, and he thought this was a good enough reason to try and eat one. So he picked up the live cockroach and started chewing it in an effort to shock audiences, as he later admitted.

8. Once he woke up to find a stranger at his bed

As he best describes it, “It was 2 in the morning and I was asleep with my wife. My 2-year-old at the time was in another room. I opened my eyes and there was a naked man wearing my leather jacket eating a Fudgesicle in front of my bed.” Thankfully, the man wasn’t dangerous and Cage talked him into leaving his house and then called for the police to come.

9. ’Cage’ is not his real last name

Nicolas Cage is Francis Ford Coppola’s nephew, therefore, his real last name is Coppola. However, from the very first film he did back in 1982, he understood that this name would always follow him. That’s why he decided to start introducing himself with his new name, Cage. As he explained, “It’s a combination of Luke Cage from Marvel Comics, who was a character I liked, also named Power Man, and John Cage, the avant-garde composer.”

10. Jim Carrey offered him a role in Dumb and Dumber

Cage and Carrey used to be very close friends back in the day, and they wanted to do a project together. When the script for Dumb and Dumber came around, Carrey asked his good friend if he wanted to star alongside him. However, Cage wanted to get away from big productions and focus on smaller, more independent movies. He went on to star in Leaving Las Vegas, for which he earned an Academy Award.

11. He has been married 5 times

He first married fellow actress Patricia Arquette in 1995, 7 years after he proposed to her on the first day they met. However, they divorced in 2001 and Cage married Lisa Marie Presley in 2002, but divorced months later.

In 2004, he married Alice Kim, who he stayed together with until 2016. In 2019, he married Erika Koike in Las Vegas, but was granted a divorce a few months later. Since 2020, he has been married to Riko Shibata, and they seem to be very happy together.

12. He once had 2 king cobras as pets

He has said in an interview, “I did have 2 king cobras and they were not happy. They would try to hypnotize me by showing me their backs, and then they’d lunge at me. After I told that story on Letterman, the neighborhood wasn’t too pleased that I had cobras, so I had them re-homed in a zoo.”

BONUS

In April 2022, he participated on a live Q&A on Reddit, where he answered to people’s questions about him:

• What is your dream role that you have yet to complete?: I would like to play Jules Verne’s Captain Nemo because of the character’s love of the ocean I share that with him.
• What’s your favourite pasta shape?: I once went to an Italian restaurant in San Francisco about 25 years ago with Charlie Sheen because they had square tube pasta and he was very interested in trying square tube pasta and we did and we loved it so much we went back the next day to try it again.
• Do you like bees?: Yes. I would have to say they’re my favorite insect. They make us honey. Bees, and then the firefly. And ants are interesting. Bumble bees are quite adorable. Don’t get me started on the praying mantis.

Which fact about this wonderful actor’s life surprised you the most? Have you done anything this amazing or eccentric?