| NET WORTH: | $ 27 Million |
|---|---|
| Source of Wealth: | Actor |
| Born: | January 7, 1964 |
| Age: | 56 |
| Spouse: | Erika Kioke |
| Children: | 2 (Weston and Kap-El) |
| Birth Name: | Nicolas Kim Coppola |
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83m) |
Nicolas is one of the most popular actors in Hollywood, and listed as one of the highest-paid. His most notable films include Ghost Rider, National Treasure, and World Trade Centre.
Early Life
Nicolas Cage was born as Nicolas Kim Coppola on January 7, 1964 in California. He went to Beverly Hills High School, but dropped out. He later attended UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television. Cage is from a family of entertainers. His mother was a choreographer and dancer, while his brothers are both radio personalities.
Cage marked his movie debut in Fast Times at Ridgemont High in 1982. The film starred Judge Reinhold as Brad Hamilton. Cage played an unnamed role, working at a burger bar alongside Brad. He also appeared in several films before his big break, including Moonstruck and Raising Arizona.
Movies
Cage’s breakthrough came when he joined the romantic drama Leaving Las Vegas in 1995. He played Ben Sanderson, an alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter who lost his job, family, and friends. The movie centers on Sanderson’s life after he moved to Las Vegas with the intention to drink himself to death.
In 2001, Cage performed the title role in Captain Correlli’s Mandolin - a movie adaptation of the Louis de Bernières novel. Captain Antonio Correlli is an officer in the Italian 33rd Acqui Infantry Division. He is cheerful and is passionate for the mandolin. The movie focuses on how Captain Corelli defends the Greek Island of Cephalonia against a German invasion.
In 2002, he starred as Charlie Kaufman/Donald Kaufman in the comedy-drama metafilm Adaptation. This film centers on Kaufman - a lovelorn screenwriter - as he struggles to adapt Susan Orlean’s book “The Orchid Thief” into a screenplay while suffering with writer’s block. The movie earned Cage an Academy Award nomination. He also played as Sergeant Joe Enders in the war film Windtalkers.
In the same year, he debuted as a director with the crime drama film Sonny. The movie centers on the life of Sonny (James Franco) who was forced to return to work as a gigolo, following an unsuccessful attempt to join the army.
Cage’s Top Grossing Movies
The National Treasure movies top the list of Cage’s box office hits. The first film in the series, National Treasure (2004), grossed $359 million. He starred as Ben Gates, an American treasure hunter and cryptologist. It focuses on Gates’ treasure hunt to find the legendary Templar Treasure. Meanwhile, National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007) earned $457 million. This second movie follows Ben as he tries to prove that his great-grandfather Thomas wasn’t involved in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. He follows a clue left in John Wilkes Booth’s diary.
The Rock, in which he co-starred alongside Sean Connery, earned $335 million. Cage starred as FBI Special Agent Dr. Stanley Goodspeed who worked closely with Mason (Sean Connery). Their mission was to stop Gen. Francis X. Hummel from launching chemical weapons in San Francisco.
His movie with John Travolta, Face/Off, was also a hit, bringing in $246 million. Cage played Castor Troy, a freelance terrorist and homicidal sociopath who tried to assassinate Sean Archer (Travolta). The movie tells how the FBI agent and the terrorist assume each other’s identity and physical appearance. Archer undergoes facial transplant surgery to copy Troy in an attempt to stop a terrorist attack. However, Troy also undergoes facial transplant surgery.
His other top grossing films include Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) with $237 million followed by Ghost Rider (2007) with $229 million.
Spouse
Cage first dated actress Christina Fulton in 1988. They had a son named Weston, who was born on December 26, 1990. The pair did not get married.
His first marriage was to actress Patricia Arquette in 1995. Cage proposed to Arquette hours after meeting her in 1987. Arquette declined the proposal, but decided to test his mettle via a scavenger hunt. Their relationship did not work. In March 1995 however, the two crossed paths again and Cage accepted Arquette’s marriage proposal. They married in 1995 but divorced in 2001.
Following an on/off relationship, in 2002 he married Lisa Marie Presley, singer, songwriter and daughter of Elvis Presley. They divorced in 2004.
His third marriage was to waitress Alice Kim. The two dated for only a matter of months before getting married in 2004. They were together for 11 years before divorcing in 2016. They had a son named Kal-El, who was born on October 3, 2005.
Cage then tried marriage for a fourth time - this time with make-up artist Erika Koike. After dating for a year, they married in Las Vegas on March 23, 2019. They split after just four days and their divorce was finalized in May 2019.
Awards
Cage was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with a motion pictures star in 1998. He received an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from the California State University, Fullerton in May 2001. The film Leaving Las Vegas earned him various awards and nominations. These include Academy Award for Best Actor, a Global Globe award and Screen Actors Guild Award. He has received many other awards and nominations for his outstanding performances.
