Nicolas Cage still remembers that he may have missed a huge opportunity when he turned down a role in Christopher Nolan’s Insomnia.
The Oscar-winning actor discussed some of the key moments of his career in a quirky, wide-ranging interview with The New York Times ahead of the premiere of his “Spider Noir” series on MGM+, recalling how several big-name writers apparently turned him down after he turned down a role in the film.
“A million years ago, David O. Russell offered me a movie. It was a good movie. He offered it and I said no. He’s the only director I said no to who actually came back and offered me another movie,” Cage told the Times. “Most of them don’t call me back because their feelings are hurt. It’s happened to me a million times. It happened with Christopher Nolan, it happened with Woody Allen, it happened with Paul Thomas Anderson. They don’t call me back.”
Cage went on to say that the Nolan film was 2002’s “Insomnia.” However, Russell offered him another film. “Madden,” about NFL coach John Madden, is scheduled for release in November.
“Anyway, David did call me, and for him to call me back and invite me again was a very classy gesture. I never wanted to say no to him again because I respect his talent so much,” Cage said. “And it was a beautiful experience. I had fun working with David. I had fun working with Christian[Bale]I had fun working with John Mulaney. But it was a big challenge. When I think of John Madden, I don’t think of myself. So, how do you get out of your comfort zone? That’s what David Bowie said to me. I asked him, “How did you keep reinventing yourself?” He said, “No matter what I was doing, I was never comfortable.”
Spider-Noir, based on the Marvel Comics, will premiere on MGM+ in the US on Monday and on Prime Video worldwide on Wednesday. Cage plays Ben Reilly, a 1930s private investigator who is also a web-slinging superhero. This series can be viewed in black and white or in color.
