How Nicolas Cage Responded to Sean Penn Saying He Wasn’t a True Actor Anymore
Actor Nicolas Cage has been a part of Hollywood history for decades, and was responsible for several of cinema’s blockbusters. But his contemporary Sean Penn once questioned Cage’s legacy as an actor because of his film choices.
Nicolas Cage understood why his career choices resulted in criticism
Penn wasn’t concerned with making blockbusters like some of his contemporaries. Many of Penn’s films were made with modest to low budgets, which sometimes meant Penn would command a much lesser salary than his peers. But this was by design, as Penn couldn’t imagine himself making a certain amount of money all at once.
“Don’t get me wrong, I would like to get paid, but I don’t know what you do with anything over $10 million. After that, it doesn’t make any sense to me,” Penn once told The New York Times.
To Penn, making certain films called into question an actor’s credibility. Cage, for instance, starred in a series of big budgeted blockbusters in the 90s. But Penn felt Cage might’ve sacrificed the right to be called an actor at his commercial peak.
”Nic Cage is no longer an actor,” Penn said. ”He could be again, but now he’s more like a. . .performer.”
The Ghostrider star would later catch wind of these comments. But he asserted that Penn’s feelings weren’t completely unexpected. The actor felt it was only a matter of time before he faced criticism for his career choices.
“That was his opinion and, you know, we’ve since left it all behind us. But I think any time an actor does something unusual it’s going to be met with a certain amount of criticism. I’ve actively searched for that,” Cage said in a 2005 interview with Total Film.
Why Nicolas Cage doesn’t like to be called an actor
Not too long ago, Cage shared that he doesn’t view himself as an actor. The National Treasure star felt acting was synonymous with dishonesty, and he believed there was always an element of honesty in his own performances.
“I really don’t like the word actor because for me it always implies, ‘Oh, he’s a great actor, therefore he’s a great liar,’” Cage said on Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast. “So with the risk of sounding like a pretentious a**hole, I like the word thespian because thespian means you’re going into your heart.”
He likened his performances in movies to Shaman rituals.
“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 a shamanism,” he said. “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. I like the idea of it being something a little more organic and less artificial.”
Nicolas Cage never plans to retire from acting
Cage has been acting for a long time. And if he has his way, he’ll be doing movies for many more years to come. Although he’s at an age where some actors might consider winding down, Cage is ready to do anything but.
“That can’t happen,” Cage told Entertainment Weekly about impending retirement. “To do what I do in cinema has been like a guardian angel for me, and I need it. I’m healthier when I’m working, I need a positive place to express my life experience, and filmmaking has given me that. So I’m never going to retire.”
