ACTOR PROFILE

NICOLAS CAGE

High off of the success of his latest movie, knowing, the always interesting Nicolas cage is the man again. I wasn’t too sure what to make of him after Bangkok dangerous, but I actually dug the new flick. I’ve always been a fan of his, from raising Arizona. He’s definitely unafraid to take chances, & I absolutely respect him for that. As a lover of all things cinema I wanted to profile him, from his beginnings as a child, to his meteoric rise to fame, the ups, downs, & everything inbetween. enjoy

Birth Name: Nicholas Kim Coppola

Nickname

Nick

Height

6' (1.83 m)

Mini Biography

The son of comparative literature professor August Coppola (a brother of director Francis Ford Coppola) and dancer/choreographer Joy Vogelsang, Cage changed his name early in his career to make his own reputation, succeeding brilliantly with a host of classic, quirky roles by the late 1980s.

Initially studying theatre at Beverly Hills High (though he dropped out at 17), he secured a bit part in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) -- most of which was cut, dashing his hopes and leading to a job selling popcorn at the Fairfax Theater, thinking that would be the only route to a movie career. But a job reading lines with auditioners for uncle Francis' Rumble Fish (1983) landed him a role in that film, followed by the punk-rocker in Valley Girl (1983), which was released first and truly launched his career.

His one-time passion for method acting reached a personal limit when he smashed a street-vendor's remote-control car to achieve the sense of rage needed for his gangster character in The Cotton Club (1984).

In his early 20s, he dated Jenny Wright for two years and later linked to Uma Thurman. After a relationship of several years with Christina Fulton, a model, they split amicably and share custody of a son, Weston Coppola Cage (b.1992).

Filmography (Actor):

The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010) (filming) .... Balthazar Blake

Season of the Witch (2010) (filming) .... Lavey

Astro Boy (2009) (post-production) (voice) .... Dr. Tenma

G-Force (2009) (post-production) (voice) .... Speckles

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) (post-production)

Kick-Ass (2009) (post-production) .... Damon Macready

Knowing (2009) .... John Koestler

Bangkok Dangerous (2008) .... Joe

National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007) .... Ben Gates

Next (2007) .... Cris Johnson

Ghost Rider (2007) .... Johnny Blaze / Ghost Rider

The Wicker Man (2006) .... Edward Malus

... aka Wicker Man - Ritual des Bösen (Germany)

World Trade Center (2006) .... John McLoughlin

The Ant Bully (2006) (voice) .... Zoc

The Weather Man (2005) .... David Spritz

Lord of War (2005) .... Yuri Orlov

National Treasure (2004) .... Ben Gates

Matchstick Men (2003) .... Roy Waller

Adaptation. (2002) .... Charlie Kaufman / Donald Kaufman

Sonny (2002) .... Acid Yellow

Windtalkers (2002) .... Sergeant Joe Enders

Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001) .... Captain Antonio Corelli

The Family Man (2000) .... Jack Campbell

Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000) .... Memphis Raines

Bringing Out the Dead (1999) .... Frank Pierce

8MM (1999) .... Tom Welles

Snake Eyes (1998) .... Rick Santoro

City of Angels (1998) .... Seth

Face/Off (1997) .... Castor Troy / Sean Archer

Con Air (1997) .... Cameron Poe

The Rock (1996) .... Dr. Stanley Goodspeed

Leaving Las Vegas (1995) .... Ben Sanderson

Kiss of Death (1995/I) .... Little Junior Brown

Trapped in Paradise (1994) .... Bill Firpo

It Could Happen to You (1994) .... Charlie Lang

Guarding Tess (1994) .... Doug Chesnic

Deadfall (1993) .... Eddie

Amos & Andrew (1993) .... Amos Odell

Honeymoon in Vegas (1992) .... Jack Singer

Red Rock West (1992) .... Michael Williams

Zandalee (1991) .... Johnny Collins

Wild at Heart (1990) .... Sailor Ripley

Vampire's Kiss (1988) .... Peter Loew

Moonstruck (1987) .... Ronny Cammareri

Raising Arizona (1987) .... H.I. McDunnough

Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) .... Charlie Bodell

Birdy (1984) .... Sgt. Alfonso 'Al' Columbato

The Cotton Club (1984) .... Vincent Dwyer

Racing with the Moon (1984) .... Nicky/Bud

Rumble Fish (1983) .... Smokey

Valley Girl (1983) .... Randy

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) (as Nicolas Coppola) ....

Filmography (Producer):

The Dance (2010) (announced) (executive producer)

The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010) (filming) (executive producer)

A Thousand Words (2009) (post-production) (producer)

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) (post-production) (producer)

Bangkok Dangerous (2008) (producer)

"The Dresden Files" (executive producer) (13 episodes, 2007-2008)

The Wicker Man (2006) (producer)

Lord of War (2005) (producer)

The Life of David Gale (2003) (producer)

Sonny (2002) (producer)

Shadow of the Vampire (2000) (producer)

Trivia

-Half German, half Italian.

-2000: Filed divorce papers in February, withdrew them in April.

-October 1997: Ranked #40 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list.

-Was engaged to Kristen Zang.

-Nephew of Francis Ford Coppola and Talia Shire.

-Got Johnny Depp his first acting job.

-Close friend of Tom Waits, Crispin Glover and Rush drummer Neil Peart.

-Stage name taken from comic book character Luke Cage.

-Owns a Lamborghini that used to belong to Prince Ali-Reza Pahlavi, the former Shah of Iran.

-Brother of Marc Coppola and Christopher Coppola.

-Grandson of Carmine Coppola.

-Proposed to Patricia Arquette on the day he met her in the early 1980s. Arquette thought he was a bit strange but played along with his antics by creating a list of things Cage would have to fulfill to win her. When he started to work his way through the list, Arquette got scared and avoided him. They met again many years later and later went on to marry.

1997: He lived in a fake castle on the outskirts Los Angeles. He wants to import an authentic one from overseas.

-Loves to improvise, ocassionally to the annoyance of other cast members.

-Collects comic books and sees them as being today's equivalent of mythology.

-The Wild at Heart (1990) movie poster lists his name as both "Nicolas Cage" and "Nicholas Cage".

-Ranked #37 in Premiere's 100 most powerful people in Hollywood in 1998.

-1984: Listed as one of 12 "Promising New Actors of 1984" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 36.

-Cousin of Jason Schwartzman.

-Suffers from vertigo.

-Tim Burton cast Cage in his doomed Superman project. Cage even did fittings of the costume.

On his upper back he has a tattoo of monitor lizard with a top hat.

Notable Movie Salaries

National Treasure (2004)

$20 million

Adaptation. (2002)

$2,000,000

Windtalkers (2002)

$20,000,000

Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001)

$7,000,000

Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000)

$20,000,000

Bringing Out the Dead (1999)

$1,000,000

Snake Eyes (1998)

$16,000,000

Face/Off (1997)

$6,000,000

The Rock (1996)

$4,000,000

Leaving Las Vegas (1995)

$240,000

Vampire's Kiss (1988)

$40,000

Valley Girl (1983)

$5,000.00

*All Info courtesy of imdb.com