Biography of Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage (born Nicolas Kim Coppola) is an American actor, director, and producer who's won both an Oscar and a Golden Globe. He shot to fame with movies like "Leaving Las Vegas," "Face/Off," "Con Air," "Gone in Sixty Seconds," "National Treasure," "Ghost Rider," and "Knowing." Net worth: $25 million.
Family and Early Years
Nicolas Cage was born on January 7, 1964, in Long Beach, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. His parents are August Floyd Coppola (1934 - 2009), a teacher of literature, and Joy Vogelsang (born in 1935), a dancer and choreographer. Nicholas was the youngest of three sons.
When the boy was 12 years old, his parents divorced, but the children kept good relations with their father and mother. Nicholas attended high school in Beverly Hills, which is known for many of its students who later work in show business. Even in school, he showed off his vivid imagination and creative approach to his studies.
The Beginning of His Acting Career
Nicolas Cage made his debut at 18 with a small role in the teen comedy «Fast Times at Ridgemont High» (1982). The film became a blueprint for the teen sex comedy genre and earned a spot on the American Film Institute's list of the «100 Funniest American Movies of All Time.» The movie also served as a launching pad for two future superstars: Sean Penn and Forest Whitaker.
In the same year, he played a lead role in the crime comedy «Raising Arizona» by the Coen brothers. It marked the first film where the soon-to-be-famous directors established their signature comedy style that teeters on the edge of farce, and audiences had mixed reactions. «Vampire's Kiss» was released in 1988. It bombed at the box office and critics weren't impressed: «Cage is clearly overacting, and therefore his character is not sympathetic enough.»
The Prosperity of His Acting Career
Cage's career breakthrough came with his powerhouse performance in the romantic drama «Leaving Las Vegas» (1995), where he played a self-destructive alcoholic who finds love with a prostitute. This performance earned Cage both an «Oscar» and «Golden Globe», while his co-star Elisabeth Shue also received nominations for both awards, and the film garnered numerous other accolades.
Soon, he played a duet with John Travolta in the science fiction thriller «Face/Off» (1997) by John Woo. The film follows Cage as a police officer who undergoes facial surgery to assume a captured criminal's identity and infiltrate a mafia clan, but the criminal escapes using the officer's face.These films established Cage in what would become his signature role - the «ordinary» man thrust into extraordinary circumstances, forced to display remarkable resourcefulness, wit, and physical endurance.
The dramatic thriller «Stolen» (2014) wasn't quite successful. Despite some interest from the audience, it received a lot of negative criticism, and it did not recoup its budget. Films from the 2010s like «The Frozen Ground» (2013, with John Cusack), «Joe» (2013), «Tokarev» (2014), «Outcast» (2014), and «Left Behind» (2014) didn't earn enough money to make Cage successful.
Critics have sometimes accused Cage of imperfect acting, claiming he «overacts above an acceptable level.» He calmly replied, «Show me where exactly this level is, and I will let you know if I play above it or not».According to the actor, he likes to work with young and unknown directors, while they are still full of enthusiasm and open-minded, as well as experienced directors, who have retained a fresh look and not «sold out to the big industry for a lot of money».
2017 also saw the release of horror movie «Mom and Dad» (with Selma Blair) and science-fiction thriller «The Humanity Bureau.» In the same year, he worked on the thriller «Looking Glass» and action movie «211». Performing one of the stunts during the shooting in Bulgaria, the actor had broken his leg, and he was sent home for treatment in the US. This slowed down production, delaying the film's release.
Personal Life of Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage's personal life, especially in his younger years, was just as wild and unpredictable as his career. In 1987, he met 18-year-old Patricia Arquette and on the same day asked her to marry him. She didn't take his spontaneous proposal seriously, so she set an impossible condition for her suitor. Thinking it was impossible, she said, "I'll marry you if you get me a black orchid, an authentic J.D. Salinger autograph, a wedding dress from a Southeast Asian fox tribe woman, a statue from the restaurant, and sing me a serenade."
In 1988, Cage began dating the actress Christina Fulton, who later gave birth to their son, Weston Coppola Cage (born on December 26, 1990). Though father and son didn't live together, they always maintained a warm, close relationship.
Their marriage was constantly in the spotlight. There were many scandals about this couple. During one fight, Lisa threatened divorce, and Cage didn't try to stop her - he went ahead and filed the papers himself. Thus, the family lasted only 109 days.
Nicolas Cage's third wife was the former waitress Alice Kim of Korean origin (born on November 27, 1983). The actor met her in 2004 in the Los Angeles restaurant, where she worked. Kim was only 19 years old. Just like before, it was love at first sight for Cage: within months of meeting, the couple announced their engagement, and just two months later, on July 30, 2004, they tied the knot.
In March 2020, the actor was spotted in the company of a new lover - a young Japanese woman, Rico Shibata. They were spotted together several times around New Orleans.
Nicolas Cage Now
During 2018-2019, he worked on the movies "Between Worlds," "Red Squad," "Zander" and "Siberia," and in 2020 he was involved in voiceover work for the sequel to the animated film "The Croods."
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Mary Hammond
2021-05-09 12:45:53
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