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And boy, do those films keep coming.
Cage brings a kind of live-wire volatility to every scene.
Its either tonally broke or situationally perfect.
And yes, hes aware ofa certain cameo performancethats gone relatively viral of late.
Is there something about vengeance you find particularly compelling?Well, yes and no.
Its true that one of my favorite books growing up wasThe Count of Monte Cristo.
But I was not attracted to that element of the story in this film as the first thing.
Noah Le Gros plays my son in a pitch-perfect way … thats the reason I made this movie.
From that, Ive found an alliance with horror, science-fiction, pulp genres.
More terrifying than humorous.
But where I can, I still attempt to put the humor onscreen.
He just loses it.
In interviews, actors often say that the craft comes down to making decisive dramatic choices.
I found humor in that.
I kept nailing that word in a way that grows increasingly strained.
I mean more that they dont get it.Thats possible, sure.
If other people are there with me, great.
And Ive been fortunate!
Ive found this group of fans that does see the humor in the things that I do.
I saw that clip as well.
I was interested in Andre Bretonand Bunuel.
I liked all the otherworldly imagery, and I wanted to find a way to embody that through performance.
I heard the prosthetic nose was your idea.The whole thing, yeah.
So I came up with a concept: This character had a physical deformity.
He looked like a freak; long nose, bullied as a kid, called Pinocchio in the schoolyard.
His father felt bad for him, bought him a nice red Ferrari to make him feel good.
I started screaming, Pinocchio!
[in the scene], but they cut that out.
And I just got back in my car and drove right away.[Laughs.
]Thats the whole character, all in 16 seconds.
That, to me, is interesting!
How many times have we seen that?
Its about delivering something novel by any means necessary?Exactly!
They said go for it, the three most beautiful words any actor can hear on a set.
And Id do it again, by the way.
Id do it again, if someone offered me a cameo and gave me free rein to explore.
Id do it again in a second.
Would you say that physical transformation is a big part of your process?Yeah.
I loved the hairpiece inArsenal.It was the same one I used in the original, my brother Eddies movieDeadfall.
But that was, like, a $5 hairpiece.
I dont usually do wigs in movies; I prefer to put in extensions.
But I did wear one inSorcerers Apprentice.
Its rarer, though, for me.
For a performer, is there a difference between acting with the full hairpiece versus extensions?
[Extensions are] more natural, easier, and healthier.
Its your real hair, with some added on for more life.
A hairpiece can be fun to use, though, to create an extraordinary look.
ForArsenal, I wanted to look impossibly fake; too cheap to be real.
Thats why I chose that, along with the false nose.
I wanted to completely sideline my career!
Im sorry, Butter?Butter!
But that didnt go over very well.
Uh, a lot of people didnt want me to do that.
I love that documentary.
note: Were referring toIm Still Here, Casey Afflecks 2010 docu-fiction hybrid tracking Phoenixs pivot-as-prank.
]And hes one of my favorite actors.
It was genius, and I was thrilled to see it.
I couldnt stop laughing.
We laughed together, and yeah, that documentary was just what Id dreamt of.
I want to watch that again now.
