Nicolas Cage Wants To Be Known As A “Thespian” Not An Actor

Nicolas Cage had admitted that he would prefer to be called a “thespian” rather than an actor.

Speaking on the Variety Awards Circuit podcast, Cage said that the term ‘actor’ made him feel like people believed he was “a great liar”.

“For me it always implies, ‘Oh, he’s a great actor, therefore he’s a great liar’,” he said. “So with the risk of sounding like a pretentious a******, I like the word ‘thespian’ because thespian means you’re going into your heart, or you’re going into your imagination, or your memories or your dreams, and you’re bringing something back to communicate with the audience.”

“I think it’s more like recruiting imagination. Dare I say it, it’s more like shamanism,” he added. “What early shamans would do is go into flights of imagination to find answers to help their village. I like looking at it like that, with the risk of sounding completely absurd and ridiculous.”

Cage, who was born Nicolas Coppola, began his acting career in the 1980s. Some of his most notable roles were in titles such as Leaving Las Vegas – for which he won an Academy Award and Golden Globe – Con Air, Face/Off, Adaptation, National Treasure, and Ghost Rider.

More recently, Cage starred in Michael Sarnoski’s film Pig, which follows a man who embarks on a desperate search for his beloved stolen pig. His upcoming work includes two western features, The Old Way and Butcher’s Crossing, as well as starring as Dracula in Universal’s new picture, Renfield.

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