With so many to choose from, it can be difficult to select a favorite Nicolas Cage movie. But if Nicolas Cage can do it, anybody can.
The “Renfield” star appeared Thursday on “The Late Show,” where host Stephen Colbert posed a question: “What are Nic Cage’s top five Nic Cage films?”
After thinking for a moment, the actor replied: “I’m going to start with ‘Pig.’ That’s my favorite movie I’ve ever made.”
The 2021 drama drew rave reviews for Cage’s performance as a reclusive former chef who sets out to track down the people who kidnapped his beloved truffle-hunting pig.
As for the other four, Cage chose the films “Mandy” (2018), “Bringing Out the Dead” (1999), “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” (2009) and “Joe” (2013).
Colbert shared that his favorite Cage movie is the 1997 action-thriller “Face/Off.” Cage approved, saying: “I like that one a lot. I love Face/Off.”
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The Academy Award winner also addressed his previously reported distaste for the word “actor,” preferring the term “thespian” instead.
“I never said, ‘Don’t call me an actor; call me a thespian,’” he told Colbert, waving off “clickbait” headlines proclaiming as much.
Cage had made the “thespian” comment during a 2021 appearance on Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast after host Jenelle Riley asked if it was difficult to “live” in the emotional space of troubled characters like the one he played in “Pig.”
“Maybe you’re so good you can just turn it on and turn it off, but I don’t think most people can,” Riley said at the time.
“I really don’t like the word ‘actor,’” Cage replied as he explained his approach to such roles.
“For me, it always implies, ‘Oh, he’s a great actor, therefore he’s a great liar.’ … With the risk of sounding like a pretentious A-hole, I like the word ‘thespian,’ because to me, ‘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.”