Some say he’s an unorthodox actor/a madman. Others say that he is the most accomplished actor in Hollywood.  All biases aside, Nicholas Cage is primarily an actor of variety.  He has been in everything: comedies, action blockbusters, animated family films, dramas, and even an occasional rom-com.  Since 1980, he has been in over 120 films.  This may seem excessive, but it has gained him numerous awards including an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and a SAG award.  Recently, he has starred in a movie with a 100% Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score and has solidified his status as a pop culture icon.  Through his many movies, the variation of critic and fan ratings they receive, and the depth to which some of his roles go, it is easy to see how he is one of the prolific actors of the 21st century. 

The year 2021 is a microcosm of Cage’s career.  That year he starred in three separate films; Pig, Willie’s Wonderland, and Prisoners of the Ghostland. The content in these ranged from truffle pigs, to possessed animatronic mascots.  The wide span of movie plots and critic reviews in 2021 are much like the rest of his career.  Pig was rated a whopping 96%, his 4th highest rating, while Willie’s Wonderland and Prisoners of the Ghostland were rated 60 and 70% respectively.  During his career, he has been in 3 movies with a 0% rating, and 9 with over 90%.  

As well as being an actor with fluctuating movie ratings, he is also one who has a lot. Over the course of his 42 years of acting, he has been in an average of 2.8 movies per year. Being in that many movies in a year isn’t out of the ordinary for a highly paid actor, but consistently acting in almost 3 movies a year for over 40 years is a feat that not many actors have accomplished.  

Without looking at pure statistics, Cage is also known for his manic acting style.  In a 2022 interview with Insider, when asked about his self-created Nouveau Shamanic acting style, he said “Nouveau shamanism was just something I came up with. I thought it sounded cool…Shamans were really actors that were just going through stories in the village, and trying to bring answers to whatever the crisis was in the village…You don’t feel like you’re acting, you feel like you’re being” (Nicholas Cage).  His unique and sometimes extreme approach to method acting has gained him a large fanbase and many references in today’s popular culture.  

Whether you enjoy Nicholas Cage’s acting or not, he is without a doubt one of the most eccentric and unique actors of the last 50 years.  

(Nicholas Cage stars as Nick Cage in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent in theaters this week)