1981–1988: Early work and breakthrough Cage made his acting debut in the 1981 television pilot
The Best of Times, which was never picked up by
ABC. His film debut followed in 1982, with a minor role as an unnamed co-worker of
Judge Reinhold's character in the
coming-of-age film
Fast Times at Ridgemont High, having originally auditioned for Reinhold's part. His experience on the film was marred by cast members endlessly quoting his uncle's films, which inspired him to change his name. The film was a modest box office success and has been branded a
cult classic. He auditioned for the role of Dallas Winston in his uncle's film
The Outsiders, based on
S.E. Hinton's
novel, but lost to
Matt Dillon. In Coppola's crime drama
The Cotton Club he portrayed a fictionalized version of mob hitman
Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll, earning praise from critic
Paul Attanasio for "artfully [using] his few moments to sketch a brawny, violent thug." His final release of the year was
Alan Parker's drama
Birdy, in which he starred with
Matthew Modine. Cage lost weight for the role and had two of his front teeth pulled out to appear disfigured. Despite massively underperforming at the box office, the film, and Cage and Modine's performances, received positive reviews, with
The New York Times critic
Janet Maslin writing, "Mr. Cage very sympathetically captures Al's urgency and frustration. Together, these actors work miracles with what might have been unplayable." In 1986, Cage starred in the little-seen Canadian sports drama
The Boy in Blue and his uncle's fantasy comedy
Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) as the husband to
Kathleen Turner's character. Cage's biggest breakthrough came in 1987 with the romantic comedy
Moonstruck, in which he starred alongside
Cher as a hot-tempered baker. In his retrospective review,
Roger Ebert wrote that he felt Cage's performance was worthy of an
Oscar.
1989–1994: Career slump In 1989, Cage starred in the black comedy ''
Vampire's Kiss'' as a man who falls in love with a
vampire and soon begins to believe himself as a vampire. The film was a major box office flop but has developed a cult following largely due to Cage's surrealistic and over-the-top performance appearing in
internet memes. Critic
Vincent Canby felt the film was "dominated and destroyed by Mr. Cage's chaotic, self-indulgent performance." After filming the Italian drama
Time to Kill (1989) in
Zimbabwe, he starred in
David Lynch's romantic crime film
Wild at Heart (1990) with
Laura Dern. Cage was drawn to the project because he was "always attracted to those passionate, almost unbridled romantic characters" and it allowed him to impersonate one of his heroes,
Elvis Presley, in scenes in which he sang.
Wild at Heart received mixed reviews upon release, despite controversially winning the
Palme d'Or at the
1990 Cannes Film Festival. Cage would reunite with Lynch and Dern for the
avant-garde concert performance
Industrial Symphony No. 1. Also in 1990, he starred as a helicopter pilot in the action film
Fire Birds, which was panned by critics and negatively compared to
Top Gun (1986). Cage's next film, the erotic thriller
Zandalee (1991), was released
direct-to-video in the United States, where it did not receive a theatrical release. His "goofy '
everyman'" performance in the romantic comedy
Honeymoon in Vegas (1992) garnered some positive critical notices, including from Roger Ebert, who defended Cage amidst some critics finding his acting "excessive" and earned Cage his second Golden Globe nomination. None of Cage's three films in 1993—
Deadfall (directed by his brother
Christopher),
Amos & Andrew and
Red Rock West—performed well at the box office. The comedy
Guarding Tess (1994) paired Cage with
Shirley MacLaine as a
Secret Service agent protecting a former
First Lady; however, it was dismissed as being derivative by some critics. He next starred alongside
Bridget Fonda in the romantic comedy
It Could Happen to You as a cash-strapped police officer who offers to share his lottery winnings with a waitress and then the much-criticized box office flop Christmas comedy
Trapped in Paradise with the
Saturday Night Live actors
Jon Lovitz and
Dana Carvey. According to Lovitz, Cage directed portions of the film because its director,
George Gallo, offered little direction.
1995–2003: Critical success and action star Cage's performance as a psychopathic criminal kingpin in the crime film
Kiss of Death (1995) was seen by many critics as the film's strong point, but his most acclaimed performance yet came in the drama
Leaving Las Vegas as an alcoholic screenwriter who falls in love with a prostitute in
Las Vegas. The role won Cage the
Academy Award for Best Actor and
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama. To prepare for the part, Cage
binge drank for two weeks and studied footage of himself. In 1996, he starred alongside
Sean Connery and
Ed Harris in
Michael Bay's
The Rock, the first of a string of action films for Cage. In the film, he played an
FBI chemical weapons specialist breaking into
Alcatraz federal prison.
The Rock was a box office and critical success, with journalist
Alexander Larman stating the film "launched Cage into an unexpected vocation as an offbeat action star." Next, he starred in
Con Air and
Face/Off, two commercially successful action thrillers that were both released in June 1997. In
Con Air, Cage led an
ensemble cast along with
John Cusack and
John Malkovich.
Jerry Bruckheimer,
Con Air's producer, offered the role to Cage after being impressed with his performances in
Leaving Las Vegas and
The Rock. Cage accepted despite disappointment at not being offered the villain role. Ebert felt Cage "[made] the wrong choice... by playing Cameron Poe as a slow-witted Elvis type who is very, very earnest and approaches every task with tunnel vision; it would have been more fun if he'd been less of a hayseed." John Woo's
Face/Off saw Cage and
John Travolta star in
dual roles as sworn enemies—a terrorist and an
FBI agent—who both undergo
face transplants to impersonate each other, requiring Cage and Travolta to switch characters. Both performances were praised by critics, with the
BBC writing in their review "Travolta and Cage invest their dual roles with physical subtleties that reflect the other actor's character." After starring in these action films back-to-back, Cage decided to "return to more serious fare" in the romantic fantasy film
City of Angels (1998), a loose remake of the German film
Wings of Desire (1987). Critics were split on the film and Cage's performance, with reviews ranging from describing him as "endlessly resourceful" to "[resembling] a serial killer more than an angel."
Brian De Palma's thriller
Snake Eyes, his second film of 1998, starred Cage as a corrupt detective. The film was met with mixed reviews, which were largely critical of its screenplay. Cage starred in
Martin Scorsese's 1999 New York City paramedic drama
Bringing Out the Dead. In early December 2006, Cage announced at the Bahamas International Film Festival that he planned to curtail his future acting endeavors to pursue other interests. On
The Dresden Files for the
Sci-Fi Channel, Cage is listed as the executive producer. In November 2007, Cage was spotted backstage at a
Ring of Honor wrestling show in New York City researching for the lead role for
The Wrestler. However, Cage dropped out of production shortly afterward because he felt that he did not have enough time to prepare for the role and director
Darren Aronofsky preferred
Mickey Rourke for the lead role. Rourke would go on to receive an Academy Award nomination for his performance. The film had its premiere as the closing entry for the
Directors' Fortnight section at the
2016 Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2016. It was released on November 4, 2016, in the United States.
Peter Bradshaw of
The Guardian gave the film four out of five stars, writing, "It's the right director for the right project and the result is Schrader's best for years: a lairy, nasty, tasty crime thriller built on black-comic chaos."
Todd McCarthy of
The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "A rare film to have been shot in Cleveland,
Dog Eat Dog definitely looks like it was shot on the cheap but puts what it needs to up on the screen with vigor and wit." Cage starred alongside
Selma Blair and
Anne Winters in
Brian Taylor's horror
comedy film,
Mom and Dad, but the film was disqualified because it was also released on Video On Demand on September 14. This was Stanley's first feature film directed since his firing from
The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996).
Color Out of Space premiered on September 7, 2019, in the Midnight Madness portion of the
2019 Toronto International Film Festival, where Cage was awarded for his role with the Creative Coalition's Spotlight Initiative Award. Following select preview screenings on January 22, the film was released in 81 theaters in the United States on January 24, 2020. In December 2018, it was announced that
Sion Sono was working on his first overseas production and English-language debut,
Prisoners of the Ghostland, starring Nicolas Cage. Cage said the film "might be the wildest movie I've ever made." Its plot revolves around a notorious criminal, Hero (played by Cage), who is sent to rescue the governor's adopted granddaughter, who has disappeared into a dark region called Ghostland. The film had its world premiere at the
2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 31, 2021. In May 2020, it was announced that Cage would be playing the role of
Joe Exotic in a scripted eight-episode
Tiger King series, written and executive produced by
Dan Lagana. It was announced that the project was scrapped in July 2021. In 2013, it was confirmed that Nicolas Cage would reprise his role as Grug in
The Croods: A New Age, which was released in 2020. Cage produced and starred in the 2021 film
Pig, where he plays Robin "Rob" Feld, a former chef turned reclusive
truffle-forager who must return to his past in
Portland in search of his beloved foraging
pig after she is kidnapped. Cage received critical acclaim for his performance and earned a second nomination for the
Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actor. He gained further acclaim for portraying a fictionalized version of himself in the 2022 action comedy film
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent as well as for his portrayal of Paul, a professor who begins appearing in the dreams of others, in the 2023
Dream Scenario, resulting in his fifth Golden Globe nomination. In the 2023 horror comedy film
Renfield, inspired by the 1897
Bram Stoker novel
Dracula, Cage portrays
Dracula opposite
Nicholas Hoult's
Renfield. Also in 2023, Cage was included as a playable character in the horror video game
Dead by Daylight. Cage reprised his role as
Clark Kent / Superman in the 2023 film
The Flash in a cameo appearance as an alternate version of the superhero. Cage shot his scenes through
volumetric capture and CGI was used to
de-age him. In July 2024, Cage starred as the titular serial killer in the horror thriller film
Longlegs, which he produced. In August, Cage signed on to play legendary
gridiron football coach and broadcaster
John Madden in the
Amazon MGM Studios film
Madden. Cage will headline the 2026 television series
Spider-Noir for
MGM+ and
Amazon Prime Video, portraying a live-action version of
Spider-Man Noir, named
Ben Reilly, in an alternate 1930s New York City. ==Acting style and reception==