Nicolas Cage Reveals The Surprising Movie Offers He Turned Down
"Leaving Las Vegas" star Nicolas Cage is known as a bit of a character, even by Hollywood's standards. From his obsession with Elvis, not to mention actually marrying Elvis's daughter Lisa Marie Presley, to his unique manner of speaking that just begs to be impersonated, the "Face/Off" legend has definitely made some amazing and eyebrow-raising choices. Now he's playing a fictionalized version of himself in "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent," and he's playing into his notorious persona in the Netflix docu-series "History of Swear Words." But he had our attention way back in the 1987 rom-com classic "Moonstruck," opposite Cher.
His career has had its up and downs, but these days Cage is on the upswing, professionally and personally. Recently, he revealed just how ecstatic he is to be a father again. He told Access Hollywood that he is ready for the arrival of his latest little one with his wife, Riko Shibata, saying, "My boys are all grown up, and I miss going to the toy store. I miss singing lullabies and rocking in the rocking chair. I'm looking forward to getting back to that."
Now, Cage is explaining that his commitment to family guides many of his career choices, like refusing starring roles in "Lord of the Rings" and "The Matrix."
Nic Cage gave up parts in 'The Matrix' and 'Lord of the Rings' for his family
"Con Air" star Nicolas Cage already has two adult children, and a third on the way. His eldest, 31-year-old Weston Coppola Cage, is a father himself, making Cage a grandpa. According to a new interview in People, staying close to home has always taken precedence over roles, and that led him to turn down "Lord of the Rings" and "The Matrix." "There is a huge disparity between that Nick Cage in 'Massive Talent' and the Nic Cage sitting in front of you right now," he said.
"First and foremost," he tells the outlet, "there's no version of Nic Cage in reality that doesn't want to spend time with his children. There's no version of Nic Cage that didn't put family first over career. I turned down 'Lord of the Rings' and I turned down 'Matrix' because I didn't want to go to New Zealand for three years or Australia for three years because I needed to be home with my son Weston, that's a fact."
It sounds like the star of "The Family Man" is taking that role to new and heartwarming heights. We have to give him props for turning down two of the arguably most renowned movies of the past 25 years for his boys, Weston and Kal-El. But can you imagine Nic Cage as Neo or Frodo?