Nicolas Cage plans to leave movies and work in TV

Nicolas Cage has recently stated that he may only work on a few more movies before crossing over to TV work.

When we think of cinema, it’s hard not to think of Nicolas Cage. From stealing the Declaration of Independence, to riding a motorcycle while on fire, to documenting superheroes as Superman and playing them up as Big Daddy in Kick Ass, Cage has certainly been in numerous notable roles.

However, it seems like the actor’s time may be coming to an end. But not in acting altogether, just in the medium he will act in.

Cage has recently gone on record to state that he plans to leave movies within the next few years, and instead focus on television series work.

Nicolas Cage has 3 or 4 movies left in him

In a recent interview with Uproxx, Cage revealed that his time with cinema was possibly coming to an end: “Yeah… I mean, I like staying fresh. I mean, I like to keep mixing it up. I don’t want to get stuck in any genre or any performance style. I want to do it all. And I feel that I’ve, at this point – after 45 years of doing this; that in over 100 movies – I feel I’ve pretty much said what I’ve had to say with cinema. And I’d like to leave on a high note and say, “Adios.” I think I have to do maybe three or four more movies before I can get there, and then hopefully switch formats and go into some other way of expressing my acting.”

In regards to what movies he wishes to do before leaving cinema, he explained “I would’ve liked to have left on a high note, like Dream Scenario. But I have other contracts that I have to fulfill, so we’ll see what happens. I mean, I am going to be very severe and very astringent on the selection process moving forward. But for me to do another movie, I do want to explore other formats.”

His current movie, Dream Scenario, would definitely be a high note to end on, considering it is currently sitting at 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie follows this synopsis: “A family man finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. However, when his night-time appearances take a nightmarish turn, he’s forced to navigate the consequences of his newfound stardom.”

But as for where Cage will go as an actor, turns out he’s looking to the smaller screen: “I never thought I would say this, what I’m saying now, that I’m ready to explore television. But probably because the TV wasn’t there yet. And also because I was a true blue film actor and I never thought I’d want to do anything else. But so many changes are happening in my industry.

“I feel like I’ve really been eclectic and I’ve explored the margins of film performance. And I’ve done every genre. And so the only thing I haven’t really done is Broadway and I haven’t done a television show. I did one pilot that didn’t get picked up when I was 15, but I think I want to try something else.”

Turns out that Cage had not been that big a TV fan until recently, by watching Breaking Bad: “I am very interested in immersion streaming with episodic television. I have seen things that can be done now with characters and the time they’re given to express themselves. I saw Bryan Cranston stare at a suitcase for an hour on one episode of Breaking Bad. We don’t have time to do that in a feature film, so maybe television is the next best step for me.

“I just found [TV] recently, like last year. My son, he introduced me to the format. I thought, okay, there is something here.”

Speaking of his son, there’s also a personal motivation for Cage’s jumping to TV, that being his family: “I want to spend some quality time with my family. And I’m going to be 60 next month and my dad died at 75. So it’s like, if I’m lucky, I have more years than he did, but I don’t know. And so what am I going to do with my next 15 years? Well, what’s important? What’s important is my children and I have a baby daughter. And if I can find an episodic show to do that stays in one place where I don’t have to keep leaving, we can all be together. That, on a personal level, would be great. But also I’m a student and I don’t know if I have anything else to learn in cinema. I might have something to learn in television.”

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