Has Nicolas Cage Gone Crazy? (Or Always Been That Way)

Has Nicolas Cage Gone Crazy? (Or Always Been That Way)

Nicolas Cage is a polarizing figure in Hollywood. Is he a cluelessly bad actor who will take on any role just to get his name in the credits or is he a phenomenally enlightened kabuki shaman with an acting technique way ahead of his time? Could it be that he’s simply a master at trolling audiences and film directors alike with a series of characters that are increasingly over the top?

On one hand, he is the celebrated actor who was nominated for Academy awards for his roles in Adaptation and Leaving Las Vegas. While on the other hand, his portrayal of Peter Loew in Vampire’s Kiss spawned countless internet memes and his roles in Face/Off sparked an entire subreddit proclaiming that he’s the “one true god”. Nicolas Cage is certainly a pop culture phenomenon, if nothing else. However, there is seemingly no such thing as lukewarm when it comes to his acting methods and the roles he portrays.

Whether or not Nicolas Cage is a good or bad actor in the traditional sense of the word is irrelevant. The actor has managed to make a name for himself and, more importantly, his name has become synonymous with, well, himself. No matter the role or film genre, audiences can rest assured that they will be getting the performance of a lifetime out of Cage as it seems each role he undertakes will attempt to outperform every previous role. One thing’s for certain, Nicolas Cage will likely never find himself type cast.