With so many to choose from, it can be difficult to pick a favorite Nicolas Cage movie. But if Nicolas Cage can do it, anyone can.
The “Renfield” star appeared Thursday on “The Late Show,” where host Stephen Colbert asked: “What are the top five Nic Cage movies by Nic Cage?”
After a moment’s thought, the actor replied: “I’ll start with ‘Pig.’ That’s my favorite movie I’ve ever done.”
The 2021 drama has garnered rave reviews for Cage’s performance as a reclusive former chef who sets out to track down the men 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 was the 1997 action-thriller “Face/Off.” Cage approved, saying: “I really like that. 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.”
“I never said, ‘Don’t call me an artist; call me a thespian,'” he told Colbert, waving “clickbait” headlines proclaiming.
Cage made the “thespian” comment during a 2021 appearance on Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast after host Jenelle Riley asked if it was difficult to “inhabit” the emotional space of troubled characters like the ones he plays. in “Pig.”
“Maybe you’re so good that you can turn it on and off, but I don’t think most people can,” Riley said at the time.
“I don’t really like the word ‘actor,'” answered Cage as he explained his approach to those roles.
“To me, it always meant, ‘Oh, he’s a great actor, so he’s a great liar.’ … At the risk of sounding like a pretentious A-hole, I like the word ‘thespian,’ because to me, ‘thespian’ means you go into your heart, or you go to your imagination, or your memories, or your dreams, and you bring something back to speak to the audience. “