Kenneth Glad
He is promoting a new noir-inspired series tied to Spider-Man mythology. In a wide-ranging interview, he discussed his name, television, past superhero roles and the acting choices behind “Spider-Noir.”
The actor said in an interview with Variety that his legal name is now Nick Cage, making official the identity he has used professionally for decades.
The actor discussed the change while promoting “Spider-Noir,” the Prime Video series also airing on MGM+, in which he plays Ben Reilly, a Depression-era New York City private investigator.
“No. I am Nick Cage. I changed my name legally last year. I’m Nick Cage in life, and I’m Nick Cage on camera.”
The surname became his own
Cage has long spoken about choosing a surname that separated his career from the Coppola family name.
In the interview, he described “Cage” as a name that became part of his personal life as well as his screen work.
He said the inspiration came partly from Marvel’s Luke Cage and partly from composer John Cage, whose name carried artistic associations in the environment where he grew up.
Cage told Variety‘s Marlow Stern that he wanted something short and memorable, while keeping “Nicolas” because it was the name his father gave him.
The legal change comes as Cage returns to comic-book storytelling in “Spider-Noir.”
Comic-book roles kept circling
Cage’s history with superhero projects includes several famous detours.
Tim Burton’s “Superman Lives” was abandoned before filming, and Cage said Sam Raimi wanted him to play Green Goblin in the first “Spider-Man” movie.
Cage chose “Adaptation” instead, a decision he still stands by.
“Both those decisions were the right ones for me, and I’m happy with those results.”
Those near-misses make “Spider-Noir” more notable, but Cage told Variety he was not chasing a belated superhero moment.
The appeal was the chance to blend old noir acting, comic-book imagery and a stranger kind of character study.
Cage did not approach “Spider-Noir” only as a superhero story. He said he looked to older film performers, including Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson, while shaping Ben Reilly’s voice and presence.
“I wanted to try to create an essence of some of my favorite old world actors because I wanted to embody that style.”
He also said he designed the performance to fit the show’s black-and-white format, with movement influenced by German expressionism and spider-like physical ideas.
Television became appealing
Cage said that he once resisted television because he feared it could feel too standardized.
That changed during the pandemic, when his son showed him “Breaking Bad.”
The series made him notice how much time actors could have to develop a character.
“I began to see that the actors in that show were afforded the luxury of time to tell their story.”
For “Spider-Noir,” he said the eight-episode structure gave him room to build Ben Reilly more gradually than a film might allow.
Old habits have changed
Cage also discussed his acting philosophy with Variety, including the term “nouveau shamanic.”
He described imagination as central to acting, while also saying he no longer relies on the extreme preparation methods linked to some of his earlier work.
“I’ve been doing this for 45 years, so I don’t have to do that anymore.”
Cage furthermore said that reports about “True Detective” remain unsettled. He said he likes Issa López and would be happy to work with her, but nothing is concrete.
Cage also said that he and Quentin Tarantino have occasionally exchanged emails about movies, though a collaboration has never come together.
He described Tarantino as “a friend of sorts” and praised his filmmaking style, calling him “an acrobat with filmmaking.”
Source: Variety interview with Nicolas Cage by Marlow Stern.
