Nicolas Cage opens up about ‘dark’ times with $6 million in debt

Nicholas Cage recently spoke about a “dark” time when he was up to his neck in debt due to a failed real estate investment.

Cage was $6 million in debt but said he never filed for bankruptcy. The actor shared that he had this “pride thing” where he wanted to work his way through everything.

Read on for more details.

Nicolas Cage went through the “dark” times

Accordingly People Magazinethe ‘Ghost Rider’ actor, 59, recalled a difficult time in his life when he was mired in $6 million in debt over a bad investment.

during his performance CBS News “60 Minutes,” Cage said, is that at the time the real estate investment he was involved in went wrong because of the market crash.

“I was too invested in real estate. The real estate market crashed and I couldn’t get out in time,” Cage explained, adding, “I paid them all back, but it was about $6 million. I never filed for bankruptcy.”

The host, Sharyn Alfonsi, explained: “It must have been a dark time for you.” He replied in the affirmative, sharing how working on film roles “without a doubt” helped him with that.

“Work has always been my guardian angel. It might not have been blue chip, but it still worked,” he said.

Nicolas Cage defends direct-to-video films

In recent years, Cage has starred in several moderate-budget direct-to-video films, which have received mixed reviews from both critics and audiences.

However, Cage has defended his decision to work on these projects, stating that he enjoys and cares about creative freedom. “Even though the movie sucks, they know I don’t call them, I care every time,” he shared.

In conversation with GQ In 2022, Cage said, “When I was doing four films a year in a row, I still had to find something in it to give it my all. They didn’t work, all of them. Some were great, like Mandy, but some didn’t work.”

He added: “But I never called it, so if there was a misunderstanding, that was it. That I did it and didn’t care. I was caring.”

Cage has always been known for his unconventional choices of roles and projects, and it seems his work in direct-to-video films is just another example of his willingness to take risks and try new things.

His top 5 movies of all time

In his recent appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the host asked Cage to list the top five films he’s worked on.

Accordingly PeopleThe actor’s top five films are Pig (2021), Mandy (2018), Bringing Out the Dead (1999), Bad Lieutenant (2009) and Joe (2013).

“I’ll start with ‘Pig,’ which is my favorite movie I’ve ever done,” Cage remarked. “I love ‘Mandy’, the Panos movie [Cosmatos] directed. I love Bringing Out the Dead, which was directed by Martin Scorsese. I Loved Bad Lieutenant by Werner Herzog. I love the movie ‘Joe’ which was directed by David Gordon Green.”

Colbert named Cage one of his favorites that he left out: “Face/Off”.

Cage said, “Oh, I like that a lot. I love ‘Face/Off’. What was interesting about “Face/Off” – and I could have mentioned “Vampire’s Kiss”. ‘Vampire’s Kiss’ was a small film I made that allowed me to explore my more abstract dreams with film performance.”

Nicolas Cage regrets eating a live cockroach in Vampire’s Kiss

The actor spoke up Yahoo! Entertainment about his regret over an unusual stunt he performed in Vampire’s Kiss, in which he ate a live cockroach.

“I’ll never do that again,” the actor told the news outlet. “I’m sorry I even did it.”

Vampire’s Kiss is a 1988 horror comedy directed by Robert Bierman and starring Nicolas Cage as Peter Loew, a New York City literary agent who, after a one-night stand with a woman he believes to be a vampire, is convinced that he will become a vampire.

The film follows Peter’s descent into insanity as he struggles to come to terms with his newfound vampiric tendencies and the fact that no one around him seems to believe him.