„Everyone Said it Was Career Death.” Nicolas Cage Was Warned Against a Role that Turned out to be His Greatest Triumph
For his unforgettable performance in Leaving Las Vegas Nicolas Cage won an Oscar, though everyone was convinced that the role would destroy his career.
Nicolas Cage is a beloved actor, although his career can be considered quite tumultuous. Some of his most famous roles were created in 1990s: Con Air, Wild at Heart, City of Angels and The Rock. It was also during this decade that he played a role in Leaving Las Vegas and won his Oscar for it.
However, it turns out that no one believed that participating in Mike Figgis’s movie would benefit Cage’s career. As the star revealed in an interview with rogerebert.com, everyone warned him that the role in Leaving Las Vegas would mean career death.
It was so amazing how that worked out. We shot it so quickly, in just over three weeks, it just flowed out of everybody. […]The irony was, when I made the movie everyone said it was career death. I told them I'm never going to win an Academy Award anyway, so let me do this and just let me express myself the way I want to.
In Leaving Las Vegas Nicolas Cage gave an unforgettable performance as an alcoholic who decides to go to Las Vegas to drink himself to death. This role remains one of the most appreciated in Cage’s career.
As fans may know, after years of success Cage had a period in which he acted in lower-quality films. However, the actor has returned to first league thanks to roles in Pig, Dream Scenario and Long Legs.
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