Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known by his stage name Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer.

He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for two BAFTA Awards.

Known for his versatility as an actor, his participation in various film genres has gained him a cult following.

Cage made his acting debut in the 1981 television pilot The Best of Times, which was never picked up by ABC.

Born into the Coppola family, Cage began his career in films such as Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) and Valley Girl (1983), as well various films by his uncle Francis Ford Coppola such as Rumble Fish (1983), The Cotton Club (1984), and Peggy Sue Got Married (1986).

His film debut followed in 1982, with a minor role as an unnamed co-worker of Judge Reinhold's character in the coming-of-age film Fast Times at Ridgemont High, having originally auditioned for Reinhold's part.

His experience on the film was marred by cast members endlessly quoting his uncle's films, which inspired him to change his name.

Cage's first starring role came opposite Deborah Foreman in the romantic comedy Valley Girl (1983), in which he played a punk who falls in love with the titular valley girl, a plot loosely inspired by Romeo and Juliet.

The film was a modest box office success and has been branded a cult classic.

He auditioned for the role of Dallas Winston in his uncle's film The Outsiders, based on S.E. Hinton's novel, but lost to Matt Dillon.

Cage, however, would co-star in Coppola's adaptation of another Hinton novel, Rumble Fish, in that year.

In 1984, Cage appeared in three period films, none of which fared well at the box office.

In the drama, Racing with the Moon (1984), Cage featured opposite Sean Penn as friends who are awaiting deployment to the U.S. Marine Corps.

In Coppola's crime drama The Cotton Club he portrayed a fictionalized version of mob hitman Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll, earning praise from critic Paul Attanasio for "artfully [using] his few moments to sketch a brawny, violent thug".

His final release of the year was Alan Parker's drama Birdy, in which he starred with Matthew Modine as two close friends and their trauma inflicted by serving in the Vietnam War.

He received critical success for his roles in Moonstruck (1987) and Raising Arizona (1987), before earning an Academy Award for Best Actor for the dramatic film Leaving Las Vegas (1995).

Cage established himself in mainstream action films, such as The Rock (1996), Con Air (1997), Face/Off (1997), Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), the National Treasure film series (2004–2007), the Ghost Rider film series (2007–2011), and Kick-Ass (2010).

He also took on dramatic roles in City of Angels (1998), Bringing Out the Dead (1999), The Family Man (2000), Matchstick Men (2003), and The Wicker Man (2006).

For his contributions to the film industry, he was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1998.

Cage owns the production company Saturn Films and has produced films such as Shadow of the Vampire (2000) and The Life of David Gale (2003), and has directed Sonny (2002).

He was Oscar-nominated for playing twins Charlie and Donald Kaufman in the comedy-drama film Adaptation (2002).

He was ranked No. 40 in Empire magazine's The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time list in 2007 and was placed No. 37 in Premiere's 100 Most Powerful People in Hollywood in 2008.

Cage was born in Long Beach, California, to August Coppola, a professor of literature, and Joy Vogelsang, a dancer and choreographer.

He was raised in a Catholic family.

His father was of Italian descent and his mother was of mainly German and Polish descent with some English and Scottish ancestry on her father's side.

His paternal grandparents were composer Carmine Coppola and actress Italia Pennino, and his paternal great-grandparents were immigrants from Bernalda, Basilicata.

Through his father, he is a nephew of both director Francis Ford Coppola and actress Talia Shire, and a cousin of directors Roman Coppola and Sofia Coppola, film producer Gian-Carlo Coppola, and actors Robert and Jason Schwartzman.

Cage is the youngest of three sons.

His two brothers are New York radio personality Marc "The Cope" Coppola and director Christopher Coppola.

He attended Beverly Hills High School, which is known for its many alumni who became entertainers.

He aspired to act from an early age and also attended UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.

His first non-cinematic acting experience was in a school production of Golden Boy.

He said he started acting because he "wanted to be James Dean. I saw him in Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden. Nothing affected me—no rock song, no classical music—the way Dean affected me in Eden. It blew my mind. I was like, 'That's what I want to do'."

At age 15, he tried to convince his uncle, Francis Ford Coppola, to give him a screen test, telling him "I'll show you acting."

His outburst was met with "silence in the car".

By this stage of his career, Coppola had already directed Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Gene Hackman and Robert De Niro.

Although early in his career Cage appeared in some of his uncle's films, he changed his name to Nicolas Cage to avoid the appearance of nepotism as Coppola's nephew.

His choice of name was inspired by the Marvel Comics superhero Luke Cage and composer John Cage.

He has voiced characters in The Croods franchise (2013–present) and in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018).

He earned renewed critical recognition for his starring roles in Mandy (2018), Pig (2021), The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022) and Dream Scenario (2023).