One of the most versatile and popular actors of his generation, NICOLAS CAGE (Roy) recently earned his second Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and his fourth Golden Globe nomination for his role in the acclaimed Spike Jonze comedy "Adaptation".
Cage won the 1995 Best Actor Oscar for his riveting performance as a suicidal alcoholic in "Leaving Las Vegas", a role that also earned him a Golden Globe and Best Actor honors from the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the Chicago Film Critics Association, the National Board of Review, the National Society of Film Critics and the Screen Actors Guild, as well as nominations from BAFTA and the Independent Spirit Awards.
Born in Long Beach, California, Cage moved to San Francisco as a teen and enrolled in a summer acting class at the American Conservatory Theatre.
After returning to Los Angeles, he attended Beverly Hills High School, during which he made his professional acting debut in the 1981 telefilm "The Best of Times" before getting his start on the big screen in a pair of acclaimed teenage comedies - a small role in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and a starring role in the hit romantic comedy "Valley Girl". That same year he played the supporting part of Smoky, Matt Dillon’s lieutenant, in Francis Ford Coppola’s "Rumble Fish", followed by larger roles in Richard Benjamin’s romantic drama "Racing With the Moon" and Coppola’s 1984 gangster epic "The Cotton Club".
Cage’s portrayal of a tortured Vietnam vet in "Birdy" established his place as one of the industry’s new dramatic talents. Directed by Alan Parker, "Birdy" won the Jury Prize at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival. Cage next reunited with Coppola on the Oscar-nominated comedy "Peggy Sue Got Married", then went on to earn his first Golden Globe Award as Best Actor for his turn as Cher’s lover in Norman Jewison’s Oscar-winning comedy, "Moonstruck". He played opposite Holly Hunter in the Coen Brothers’ cult favorite "Raising Arizona", then opposite Laura Dern in David Lynch’s bizarre thriller, "Wild at Heart" (winner of the 1990 Cannes Film Festival’s Palm d’Or). He earned another Golden Globe nomination for his next role in Andrew Bergman’s 1992 comedy, "Honeymoon in Vegas", co-starring Sarah Jessica Parker and James Caan.
More recently, Cage has collaborated with one of Hollywood’s most successful producers, Jerry Bruckheimer, on such action hits as "Gone in Sixty Seconds", "Con Air" and "The Rock". He has also worked with such acclaimed directors as John Woo ("Windtalkers", "Face/Off"), John Madden ("Captain Correlli’s Mandolin"), Brett Ratner ("The Family Man"), Joel Schumacher ("Eight Millimeter"), John Dahl ("Red Rock West"), Barbet Schroeder ("Kiss of Death"), Brian De Palma ("Snake Eyes"), Brad Silberling ("City of Angels") and Martin Scorsese ("Bringing Out the Dead"). Among his additional motion picture credits are "Guarding Tess", "Fire Birds", "The Boy in Blue", "It Could Happen to You" and "Vampire’s Kiss" (a role which brought Cage his first Independent Spirit Award nomination).
In addition to his onscreen contributions, Cage produced the spooky period drama "Shadow of the Vampire", starring John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe, and the recent legal drama "The Life of David Gale", directed by Alan Parker and starring Kevin Spacey, Kate Winslet and Laura Linney. He recently stepped behind the camera to direct his first feature, the romantic drama "Sonny", starring James Franco, Mena Suvari, Brenda Blethyn and Harry Dean Stanton. The film had its world premiere at the 2002 Deauville Film Festival in France.
Cage’s other industry honors include the first Distinguished Decade in Film Award from NATO/ShoWest, the 16th American Cinematheque Award at the 2001 Moving Picture Ball, the Tribute to Independent Spirit Award at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the 1996 Montreal World Film Festival. His hand and footprints have been added to the world-famous collection at Mann’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood.
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