Five Best Nicolas Cage Films That Show His Unbelievable Range As An Actor

TV & Film

Mar 30

Many of us have a favorite actor that we can count on to be in certain “types” of movies … and then, they break out into a whole different genre. While the late great Robin Williams will always be remembered for his comedy, he did cause a stir when he gave drama a try with Good Will Hunting and Awakenings. Ben Stiller will likewise be known for his funny films; now, he is behind the scenes of the streaming episodic thriller Severance.

But, there will be some actors that can shine in practically every genre that there is, and Nicolas Cage is one of them. Whether it be romance, action, children’s movies, horror, or contemplative drama, Nicolas Cage has covered them all in over one hundred movies. Here, we will take a look at the movies that showcase his acting range.

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5. Horror

Renfield (2023)

Many Nicolas Cage films fall into this category. Among those are Season of the Witch, Between Worlds, 8MM, The Wicker Man, and, reaching back to 1988, Vampire’s Kiss. The Wicker Man (not to be confused with the 1970s film starring Christopher Lee) and Vampire’s Kiss are said to be more on the campy/black comedy lines. 8MM has Cage figuring out whether a snuff film is real. Ghost Rider brings the comic book character Johnny Blaze to life as a man who sells his soul to the Devil to save his father’s life, only to be cursed to hunt down sinners.

This also had a sequel, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011), where Cage is called upon to protect the Devil’s son, as his Daddy is after him. Longlegs and Mandy are also very good films in this category, as Cage gave very emotional performances in these films. However, I am going to go with Renfield for the top film in this category. Mr. Cage goes back to his vampiric roots and gives a fun turn to the motif. Also starring Nicolas Hoult as the titular Renfield, this film was directed by Chris McKay.

4. Family Movies

The Sorceror's Apprecntive — Image Source: Moviebabble.com

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (2010)

Going from one side of the film spectrum to the other, Nicolas Cage has also shown his gentler side in quite a few movies. I remember when I was very young going to see Raising Arizona with my parents in the movie theater. The Family Man is also touted as a good holiday movie. Mr. Cage has even done voice work in The Croods, Teen Titans Go, and Spiderman franchises. Teaming up with Disney, Cage has been in both National Treasures movies as Benjamin Gates, a history buff turned adventurer, as he follows his heart and clues to find the treasure his grandfather told him about in his youth.

The same Disney team that created National Treasure with director John Turteltaub and producer Jerry Bruckheimer also brought The Sorcerer’s Apprentice to live action. Based on a short segment of Disney’s Fantasia, this gives the mythological backstory to the sorcerer in the animated classic along with his apprentice, with Jay Baruchel taking on the part previously held by Mickey Mouse. Audiences loved Nicolas Cage in this, as he gave the lighthearted subject matter his all in his portrayal of Balthazar Blake.

3. Romance

Moonstruck — Image Source: Pastemagazine

Tall and dark, with a brooding expression, Nicolas Cage has been a romantic lead in quite a few movies. This is the genre in which Cage had his breakout role, starring opposite Kathleen Turner in his uncle Francis Ford Coppola’s Peggy Sue Got Married, though he had made his theatrical debut with Martha Coolidge’s Valley Girl in 1983. Two years later, he played opposite music legend Cher in Norman Jewison’s Moonstruck, which garnered Cage a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor. Moonstruck itself won many accolades and awards. Cage went on to star in Honeymoon in Vegas (1992) and It Could Happen to You (1994), a charming movie based on real-life events where a New York City police officer doesn’t have enough money to tip his waitress. Feeling guilty, he tells her that if he wins the lottery, he’ll split his winnings with her, and, well, you can guess the rest of this happy ending.

1998 brought Nicolas Cage together with Meg Ryan in City of Angels, where Cage is an angel who, because of his love for Ryan’s character, becomes human and experiences human sensations. Both the Goo Goo Dolls and Alanis Morrisette’s contributions to this soundtrack can still be heard on the radio today. There are a lot of entries in this category, but I will go with Moonstruck. Although both Peggy Sue Got Married and Raising Arizona were successful films, Moonstruck put Cage in a place where he was considered to be a talent to be reckoned with, which is not easy to do in a comedic role.

2. Action

Face/Off (1997)

The mid-1990s saw a slew of action movies starring our leading man. This era brought us The Rock, where a rogue group of Marines take hostages on Alcatraz. Amazingly, the plot of this movie led to the real-life British Secret Intelligence Agency believing that Saddam Hussein was making chemical weapons in the same way as in the movie. The Rock also earned Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage an MTV Movie Award for Best Onscreen Duo. The next year brought us both Con Air and Face/Off. Con Air is where Cage’s character helps bring down a takeover of a plane that is transporting dangerous convicts to a super-maximum security prison.

Both Cage and John Travolta were praised for their acting skills in Face/Off, where director John Woo guided them to great performances of … each other after going through secret face-switching surgery to find out where a bomb is hidden in Los Angeles. You would think that Gone in 60 Seconds would have been the cherry on the sundae after an action resume like this, especially with an all-star supporting cast of Angelina Jolie, Giovanni Ribisi, Christopher Eccleston, Robert Duvall, Vinnie Jones, Delroy Lindo, Chi McBride, and Will Patton, but it was panned by critics and was a box office loss for Disney.

Comedy Honorable Mentions

Although I don’t have the space in this piece to include a larger section of this genre, I would be remiss to not include Cage’s contributions to comedy. Feel free to check out these for yourselves and make your own decision as to which one is the best!

The Weather Man (2005), Spike Jonze’s Adaptation (2002), The Coen Brothers’ Raising Arizona (1987), and 2022’s The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent are all good films from which to choose a movie night selection.

1. Drama

Leaving Las Vegas (1995)

This is a chock-filled category. Starting in 1983’s Rumble Fish, again directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Cage started his dramatic turn early in his career. He followed Rumble Fish the next year with Racing with the Moon, which also starred Sean Penn. Cage took a historical role in 1989’s Time to Kill, an Italian film showing that country’s invasion of Ethiopia during World War II. In 2016, Cage took on another World War II role, this time from the American side in USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage. Although the premise of Pig (2021) may seem humorous, Cage’s portrayal of a loner who has to go to the city to find his kidnapped truffle-hunting pig got lots of notice.

But, it’s going back to 1995 with Leaving Las Vegas that put Cage over the top in this genre. In this film, he plays Ben Sanderson, an alcoholic who has lost his money and his career; so, with nothing to lose, he decides to go to Las Vegas to drink himself to death. Elisabeth Shue also stars as Sera, a prostitute Sanderson befriends. Cage won the Golden Globe and Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of Ben Sanderson, with film critic Roger Ebert noting, “If there are two unplayable roles in the stock repertory, they are the drunk and the whore with a heart of gold. Cage and Shue make these cliches into unforgettable people."

These are just some of the over 100 movies in which Nicolas Cage has performed. I hope they show the wide range of “massive” talent that he has! It is easy to see how Mr. Cage is one of the most prolific actors of our generation.

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