Nicolas Cage has starred in enough wild movies to fill several alternate universes, but apparently there’s still one Hollywood “what if” living rent-free in his head: rejecting Christopher Nolan.
In a candid new interview with New York Times prior to the publication of Spider-Noiradmitted Cage that he thinks declining roles from major directors may have quietly closed some doors over the years — including one with Nolan after passing on the 2002 thriller Insomnia.
“Most of them get their feelings hurt and don’t call you back,” Cage said. “It’s happened to Christopher Nolan, it’s happened to Woody Allen, it’s happened to Paul Thomas Anderson. They don’t call me back.”
It’s probably the most Nicolas Cage phrase ever uttered: casually name-dropping elite directors like exes who left him to study.
Cage did not reveal exactly why he turned Insomnia down, but admitted that one filmmaker surprised him by giving him another shot: David O. Russell.
The actor is now starring in Russell’s upcoming NFL biopic Madden alongside Christian Bale and John Mulaney after previously turning down one of Russell’s previous projects.
“And it was a beautiful experience,” Cage said. “I enjoyed working with David.”
The Oscar winner also revealed the unusual career advice that still guides him today, courtesy of the late music icon David Bowie.
“I asked him, ‘How did you keep reinventing yourself?'” Cage recalled. “He said, ‘I just never got comfortable with anything I did.'”
Honestly, that explains Nicolas Cage’s entire filmography.
