‘I’ve successfully pissed everybody off!’

TNN / Jan 3, 2008, 00:00 IST

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Hollywood superstar Nicolas Cage who’s back with National Treasure: Book of Secrets defends his choice of movies in an exclusive with TOI.

‘I’ve successfully pissed everybody off!’

doweshowbellyad=0; Nicolas Cage in a still from National Treasure: Book of Secrets More picsApart from being one of the most gifted actors of his generation, Nicolas Cage is also one of the most versatile.
It’s 20-odd years since the now 43-year-old actor made Hollywood sit up and take notice with daringly original performances in such films as Raising Arizona, Moonstruck and Vampire’s Kiss (in which he reputedly ate a live cockroach on screen).
Since then Cage has mixed edgier independent fare such as Adaptation and Leaving Las Vegas, winning a Best Actor Oscar for the latter, with mainstream films such as The Rock, Con Air, Gone In Sixty Seconds and National Treasure, all four for Hollywood’s most consistently successful producer, Jerry Bruckheimer. Bruckheimer and Cage are collaborating for a fifth time on National Treasure: Book of Secrets, a sequel to the original film in which the actor revisits the character of Ben Gates. His latest outing, finds him dashing around the world in pursuit of fabled, long-lost treasure and a dark secret about one of his ancestors. In an exclusive with BT, Cage talks about returning for a second go-round as Ben Gates and explains why he tries to keep audiences and critics guessing
Was making a sequel to the first National Treasure an easy sell for you?

I didn’t have any expectations for the first film and I was somewhat happily surprised, that it caught on the way it did. I was very pleased to have a chance to play such a positive character again.
When I read the first script I thought it was a fresh concept – here’s this man who’s really interested in history and is a bit of a square, but also is an archaeological detective of sorts, a treasure hunter and even a glorified criminal, but who isn’t violent in any way. I also thought that he was a character I could grow with.

How so?
I always try to find a way to play characters that are somehow synchronised with my own life and whatever I may or may not be going through so I can play them honestly. I figured this character of Benjamin Gates could grow just by virtue of the fact that there was some depth to him in the first place and that I have changed so much in the three years since I made the first movie.
This is the fifth time you have worked with Jerry Bruckheimer. What’s the secret of your working relationship?
Jerry is someone I kind of came up with. I remember auditioning for him for a movie called Thief of Hearts, which is such a long time ago. I didn’t do the film, but I would see him around town and he was always a very nice man and easy to talk to. When we were on The Rock he was there every day, and the same on Con Air. I just think he has a lot of faith in his director and stars and he knows me very well, so it’s more, if there’s a problem then we will give him a call.
Does making a big action film differ from doing a small, art-house film for you?
A big difference on a film such as National Treasure is that the writers sort of respond to what’s already been shot and how it’s working out and I think it keeps things very fresh and spontaneous but at the same time it’s always a bit of a high-wire act.
And you like that?
Yeah, there’s a level of adrenaline to it that gives me an edge that I enjoy, though I don’t know if I would feel very confident if it was not Jerry producing. Somehow you know with Jerry that the work will get done and it will be satisfying and entertain people.
How do you feel about having Helen Mirren play your mother?
I first saw her in a movie called Excalibur years ago and I loved her in that. And I could see where she could be my mother, because we have a similar aquiline nose and long face. I didn’t care who they cast as my mother long as she’s the greatest actress in the world. And with Helen: when she’s on, there is no one any better.
Has she surprised you in any way?
I think I have an ability to guess what people are like from photographs and when I met her, she was just what I hoped she would be. She’s very down to earth, very easy to talk to, very friendly, and has a shocking sense of humour at times, which is arresting and fun (laughs). I guess it’s a way of breaking the ice. She’s a force to be reckoned with, a big deal, and you could easily be intimidated by someone of that calibre, and yet within a second she puts you at your ease.
Between Helen Mirren, Jon Voight, Ed Harris and Harvey Keitel, you have a pretty talented ensemble on this film. Do you ever worry they will steal all your scenes?
(Laughs) The more you encourage someone to be great in a movie the better that movie will be, however it happens. You know, it’s one of the more obnoxious things about film actors when they get competitive and start to worry about being upstaged and who’s going to look at them, who gets the last word. To me that’s when acting becomes kind of adolescent and makes me not want to be an actor, so I try to do everything I can to not be that way.
You’re obviously comfortable in many different film genres, from romances to action to serious drama. Do you think that has helped or hindered your career?
It’s clear to me that I’ve successfully pissed everybody off! I’ve pissed off the fans of Leaving Las Vegas and I’ve pissed off the fans of National Treasure, because I keep doing a little bit of everything and inevitably everybody gets upset at some point. But I’m not interested in a career based on one kind of movie.
I’m the kind of person who needs to keep a sense of adventure and exploration going and it doesn’t mean it’s always going to work, but it is going to keep me interested, and that’s my main goal. I’m genuinely interested in punk rock, rebellious, avant-garde films and I’m genuinely interested in big adventure movies. That’s how I grew up. I like both. So, you know, I’m planning to keep pissing people off.

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