40 Nicolas Cage Interview Quotes That Display The True Extent Of His “Strangeness”

There is no one quite like Nicolas Cage. The bulging eyes. The freaked-out shouting. The wild hand gestures. His unique cinematic performances have launched countless memes and hilarious YouTube mash-ups. But if you thought Cage was only outstanding on the big screen, you clearly haven’t caught him giving interviews. These incredible quotes show you that the actor is truly one of a kind.

1. Bunny vs dragon

“I once thought that I was born in the Year of the Dragon, ’cos it was 64, but then I found out that the Chinese new year actually begins in February, so I was born in the Year of the [Rabbit]. And I had this incredible identity crisis that I was no longer a dragon, I was a bunny, after I had a dragon tattooed on my back… It was a very sad period in my life. I didn’t know who I was anymore. I didn’t leave the house.”


— on Late Night with Conan O’Brien in 2007, promoting Ghost Rider.

2. Fishy thoughts

“I have been to an aquarium here in Las Vegas and I was with a girl, and three panther groupers came to stare at her. There were millions of fish in that aquarium, and they all came to look at her. I have no idea to this day why… Maybe they were attracted to the way she was dressed, or maybe they had a dream about her!”


— talking to Vice in 2016, promoting Dog Eat Dog.

3. Roy Richards

“So one day I went to school and I dressed up, put my cowboy boots on, put my black leather jacket on, put my sunglasses on, and said I was ‘Roy Richards and if you mess around with my cousin, Nicky Coppola, I’m gonna kick your [butt].’ So after that, they never [messed] around with me anymore. So that was really my first acting experience.”


— on Wogan in 1990, promoting Wild at Heart.

4. Nouveau shamanic

“Nouveau shamanic is something I came up with because I liked the French sound, ‘Nouveau.’ Thought it had kind of a fun sound. Meaning new. I had read a book called The Way of Wyrd by Brian Bates, and he was putting forth the notion that all actors, whether they know it or not, are recruiting the same instincts of the early shamans, in the old villages, from hundreds and thousands of years ago, and I liked that idea.”


— talking to GQ in 2022, promoting The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.