Nicolas Cage says he's almost ready to make a big career change

Looking at Nicolas Cage’s work in recent years across a variety of genres, completing what many have called a renaissance of sorts, you’d think the actor wants to keep going for as long as possible, but it seems like he might be ready to hang his hat sooner rather than later… at least on the big screen.

While talking to Uproxx’s Mike Ryan about his A24-produced movie Dream Scenario, which opens on November 10, the prolific actor admitted he’s looking to maybe change things up before it’s too late: “I feel like I’ve really been eclectic and I’ve explored the margins of film performance. And I’ve done every genre. And so the only thing I haven’t really done is Broadway and I haven’t done a television show. I did one pilot that didn’t get picked up when I was 15, but I think I want to try something else.” Indeed, it’s hard to think of a genre which Cage hasn’t explored, so a switch to TV or maybe even theatre would be refreshing to see.

This sentiment isn’t uncommon among veteran actors and even filmmakers. For example, Quentin Tarantino is still determined to retire from the big screen after he finishes The Movie Critic. However, Cage isn’t fully determined to close the door on movies: “Well, I meant it. I would like to say, 'Adios,' on this one. But I can’t just now.” After all, he admits he has only discovered the joy of watching TV shows recently, when he got into Breaking Bad: “Well see, that’s just it. This is a new world for me. I don’t watch TV… My son, he introduced me to the format. I thought, okay, there is something here. But these are… I’m sharing ideas with you as I’m still forming them.” We’d never given it some serious thought, but seeing Cage tackle recurring TV roles as unique as Walter White would be quite fun.

His answer regarding potential returns to iconic characters such as Ghost Rider (maybe in Avengers: Secret Wars?) and Face/Off’s Castor Troy isn’t a definitive ‘no’ either: “I’m saying if something came along that I thought had some pop to it, some spark to it, that maybe could be fun for folks to revisit, like a Face/Off 2 or Ghost Rider… But I mean, that’s not going out and finding a brand new bit of material and trying something else.” His attitude feels like the right one to have as an artist.

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