Nicolas Cage Will Never Exercise For A Role Again And His Reasoning Is Actually Pretty Sound
Nicolas Cage is the gift that keeps on giving, be it his desire to play an "absolutely terrifying" Egghead in a future "The Batman" sequel or the fact that he might just be playing a bonkers, unforgettable version of Dracula in the upcoming horror-comedy, "Renfield." Now, Cage has declared that he will never exercise for a role again, and the reasoning behind this decision is equally pragmatic and hilarious.
Speaking to GQ while answering fan questions/theories during their "Actually Me" segment, Cage revealed that he won't be working out "that hard again" for a role since people never believe his abs are real anyway. This answer was prompted by a fan's Quora question about whether Cage's abs in "Ghost Rider" were real or CGI, to which Cage exasperatedly answered the following:
"They [Cage's ab muscles] are real, and that's why I'll never work out that hard again. Because nobody wanted to believe they were real and they wanted to believe it was CGI, which it wasn't so what's the point?"
I mean, the man's not wrong. That's a smart move. Check out Cage's interview with GQ in its entirety below.
'What's the point?'
Cage's rendition of Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider is entertaining in a hilarious, over-the-top way, which is in keeping with most of Cage's meme-worthy, iconic roles, such as the one in "The Wicker Man." Blaze as a character did not necessarily need to sport such defined abs, and the still-prevailing disbelief that Cage's abs in "Ghost Rider" were not CGI is reason enough for his decision to not overextend himself physically for a role.
Apart from this, Cage spent the rest of his segment debunking rumors and confirming online speculations. Cage went on to debunk fan speculation that he and Gary Oldman were originally considered for the roles of Harry and Lloyd in "Dumb and Dumber," saying that while Jim Carrey wanted him involved, he chose '"Leaving Las Vegas" instead. He also went on to say how he's not invested in social media, although he is aware of the numerous Nic Cage memes that circulate online, calling the Nic-Cage-is-actually-a-vampire-from-the-1870s meme his favorite.
Cage also went on to answer a fan query about the aborted Tim Burton film, "Superman Lives," answering that he hopes "there's still a chance" for it to materialize in the future (we hope so too). Moving on to his other superhero roles, Cage talked about how much he enjoyed playing Spider-Man Noir in "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," and how he took inspiration from noir actors in the '30s and '40s, including icons like Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney:
"Well, Spider-Man Noir was great. I really enjoyed playing that part. I liked it because I was able to bring some of my own personal interests in the early actors of the '30s and '40s, like Bogart and Cagney, that were in all those noir films. So that was fun for me. And they let me do it, which is unusual."
Cage's latest film, "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent," will be released in theaters on April 22, 2022.