We've compiled the biography of actor Nicolas Cage, who was born into a multi-celebrity family and is known for playing in different genres, from drama to romantic comedy, action to war movie.
His real name is Nicholas Kim Coppola, he was born on January 7, 1964, in Long Beach, California. He was born to his father, literature professor August Floyd Coppola, and his mother, dancer and choreographer Joy Vogelsang. Growing up in a Catholic family, Cage's father is of Italian descent, while his mother is of German and Polish descent. He is the nephew of director Francis Ford Coppola and actress Talia Shire, also through his father, while his paternal grandmother is actress Italia Pennino and grandfather is composer Carmine Coppola. He is also the cousin of directors Roman Coppola and Sofia Coppola, filmmaker Gian-Carlo Coppola, and actors Robert and Jason Schwartzman.
Cage has two brothers, New York radio broadcaster Marc "The Cope" Coppola and director Christopher Coppola. Attending Beverly Hills High School in California, Cage sought acting from an early age and studied at the UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television. His first non-film acting experience came with the school production drama "Golden Boy". Although Cage appeared in some of his uncle Ford Coppola's films early in his career, he changed his name to "Nicolas Cage" as Coppola's nephew to avoid appearing nepotism.
Cage made his acting debut with the television series "The Best of Times" (1981). He made his film debut the following year, in a cameo role in the coming-of-age movie "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." Cage's first leading role was with Deborah Foreman in the teen romantic comedy movie "Valley Girl" (1983), directed by Martha Coolidge. While the film was a moderate box office success, it was considered a cult classic.
In 1984, Cage appeared in three period films that were not successful at the box office. He first appeared in the drama "Racing with the Moon" with Sean Penn and Elizabeth McGovern. He then played a fictionalized version of the mob hitman Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll in Coppola's crime drama film "The Cotton Club", which received critical acclaim. The last movie of the year was the drama movie "Birdy", in which he co-starred with Matthew Modine and directed by Alan Parker. Although the film underperformed at the box office, the performances of the lead roles received positive reviews.
In 1986, he starred in the Canadian sports drama film "The Boy in Blue" and the fantasy comedy-drama film "Peggy Sue Got Married" (1987) directed by his uncle. Later, he starred as a dumb ex-con in the crime comedy "Raising Arizona" (1987), directed by the Coen brothers. Cage's biggest breakthrough came when he starred alongside Cher and Danny Aieollo in the romantic comedy-drama film "Moonstruck" directed by Norman Jewison. The film received great attention from both critics and audiences. He earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor – Musical or Comedy Film for his performance.
Later, Cage, who starred in the black comedy horror movie "Vampire's Kiss" (1989), developed a cult following for his surreal and extravagant performance. However, the movie was a huge box office failure. Later, he starred as a pair of lovers with Laura Dern in the Italian drama film "Time to Kill" (1989) and the comedy romantic crime film "Wild at Heart" (1990) directed by David Lynch. The film controversially won the Palme d'Or at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival. However, it received mixed reviews after its release.
Cage's next film performance in the romantic comedy "Honeymoon in Vegas" (1992) received some positive reviews. In addition to this, he earned his second Gloden Globe nomination for his performance. He hosted an episode of the show "Saturday Night Live" to promote the movie, and this was his only time hosting the show.
The following year, he co-starred with Shirley MacLaine in the comedy-drama film "Guarding Tess" directed by Hugh Wilson. He then appeared with Bridget Fonda in the romantic comedy-drama film It Could Happen to You, and subsequently with Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey in the Christmas-themed crime comedy Trapped in Paradise. The second film also failed at the box office as well as receiving a lot of criticism.
Later, his performance as a psychopathic crime boss in the crime thriller "Kiss of Death"(1995) directed by Barbet Schroeder was considered by many critics as the film's strong point. Cage's most acclaimed performance ever came in the drama movie "Leaving Las Vegas," in which he starred as an alcoholic screenwriter. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Drama Film for his performance.
His other credits include the psychological drama film "Bringing Out the Dead"(1999) directed by Martin Scorsese and the black comedy crime film "Matchstick Men" (2003), directed by Ridley Scott. The genre of most of Cage's financial success has been action/adventure. Among them; action thriller "The Rock"(1996), action comedy movie "Con Air"(1997), sci-fi action thriller "Face/Off"(1997), action heist movie "Gone in 60 Seconds"(2000) and documentary drama disaster movie "World Trade Center"(2006). Cage's other film debut was when he co-starred with Téa Leoni in the romantic fantasy comedy-drama "The Family Man" (2000). The film received mixed reviews and was a successful box office hit.
Cage, who played the leading role in the 2001 war movie "Captain Corelli's Mandolin", learned to play the mandolin from scratch for his role. He made his directorial debut in 2002 with the crime drama film "Sonny". Also that year, he earned Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for best actor for his portrayal of real-life screenwriter Charlie Kaufman and Kaufman's fictional twin, Donald, in the comedy-drama "Adaptation."
Two years later, he starred in the action-adventure heist movie "National Treasure" (2004), making it his second highest-grossing film to date. The following year, the crime drama movie "Lord of War" and the black comedy-drama movie "The Weather Man" did not reach a healthy audience despite their nationwide release and critical acclaim for his performance in the movies. Then, the 2006 version of the horror movie "The Wicker Man" was also very badly received.
The critically-acclaimed superhero movie "Ghost Rider" (2007), based on the Marvel Comics character, outperformed, grossing more than $45 million in its opening weekend and more than $208 million worldwide over the weekend. Also that year, he appeared in the lead role in the sci-fi action thriller "Next" directed by Lee Tamahori. The movie was a box office debacle.
In 2008, Cage starred in the action thriller "Bangkok Dangerous" by the Pang Brothers as Joe, the hit man who changed his mind while on a work trip in Bangkok. The following year, he appeared in the science fiction thriller "Knowing" directed by Alex Proyas. The film, which received mainly negative and mixed reviews, was a blockbuster in its opening weekend.
Also in 2009, he co-starred with Eva Mendes in the black comedy crime film "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" directed by Werner Herzog. The film was received very well and positively by the critics. In 2010, Cage appeared in the action-adventure fantasy film "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", in which he played the role of the sorcerer. He later got the lead role in the supernatural action-adventure movie "Season of the Witch," in which he plays a 14th-century knight.
In 2013, he starred alongside John Cusack, Vanessa Hudgens, and 50 Cent as the main characters in Scott Walker's directorial debut thriller "The Frozen Ground," based on the crimes of real-life Alaskan serial killer Robert Hansen. Although the film received mixed reviews, Cage's performance was described as outstanding and solid. Also that year, he appeared in "Joe," an independent crime drama film directed by David Gordon Green, based on the novel of the same name. Premiering on 30 August 2013 at the 70th Venice International Film Festival and subsequently at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, the film failed at the box office. However, Cage's performance was critically acclaimed.
Three years later, he reunited with Willem Dafoe in the black comedy action thriller "Dog Eat Dog" (2016), directed by Paul Schrader. The film received moderate reviews and box office. Cage co-starred with Selma Blair and Anne Winters in Brian Taylor's horror comedy "Mom and Dad," which premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. The film received positive reviews from critics upon its theatrical release. At the same time, director John Waters appreciated the film, calling it one of the best films of 2018.
In 2018, Cage appeared in the action thriller horror movie "Mandy," which premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival on January 19. The film received critical acclaim and was dedicated to composer Jóhann Jóhannsson, who died that year, as it was one of the last films he scored.
In December 2018, Cage signed on to star in the science fiction horror film "Color Out of Space" directed by Richard Stanley, based on the short story "The Color Out of Space" by H. P. Lovecraft. The film premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival's Midnight Madness section, and Cage was awarded the Creative Coalition's Spotlight Initiative Award for his role. It was also at that time that he started working on "Prisoners of the Ghostland", his first overseas production and his first English-language film starring Cage, directed by Sion Sono. Cage described the movie as "may be the craziest movie I've ever made."
In 2020, the sequel, "The Croods: A New Age" animated adventure comedy directed by Joel Crawford, was released in theaters in the United States on November 25, 2020. Cage reprized his role in the sequel, and the film received positive reviews from both critics and the box office. The following year, he produced and co-starred in the drama film "Pig" and was acclaimed for his performance. Later that year, he was cast as one of the lead roles in the comedy horror movie "Renfield," directed by Chris McKay. The film, which had its world premiere at the Overlook Film Festival on March 30, 2023, received mixed reviews from critics.
Cage gained further acclaim for portraying a fictionalized version of himself in the 2022 action comedy movie "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent."
Private life
In 1988, Cage began dating actress Christina Fulton. The couple gave birth to a son named Weston Coppola Cage on December 26, 1990. Cage has two grandchildren through Weston.
Cage's first wife was actress Patricia Arquette, whom he married in April 1995 and divorced in 2001. His second marriage was to singer-songwriter Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley. The couple married on August 10, 2002 in Kamuela, Hawaii and divorced on May 24, 2004.
They married Cage's third wife, Alice Kim, on July 30, 2004, on a private ranch in Northern California. The couple has a son named Kal-El, who was born on October 3, 2005, and the couple divorced in January 2016. Three years later, Cage married Erika Koike in Las Vegas and filed for annulment four days later. Finally, Cage married Riko Shibata on February 16, 2021, and they have a daughter named August Francesca, born on September 7, 2022.
Cage received a movie star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard in 1998 for his contributions to the movie industry. He is also referred to as one of Hollywood's most generous stars. Cage, who gave material, moral, time and effort to many institutions and organizations, was deemed worthy of the Humanitarian Aid award by the United Nations for his work. Cage, once considered one of Hollywood's highest-paid actors, earned $40 million in 2009, according to Forbes magazine. He also owns 22 cars.