Nicolas Cage explains how his “memeification” drove him to the new comedy Dream Scenario. The actor, whose career has spanned a variety of genres, became the subject of several internet memes over the years, using content from Vampire’s Kiss, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, and other movies. Cage is also known for the emotional outbursts of different characters he played, including Eddie from Deadfall and Castor/Sean from Face/Off. In the upcoming movie Dream Scenario, Cage plays an unkempt professor named Paul Matthews.
Following Dream Scenario‘s recent premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (via Deadline), Cage talked about a viral video compilation of his many character outbursts and how that led to him being a part of this movie. Check it out below:
He explained that he couldn’t prevent the video from catching on and noted the “memeification” that ensued. After reading the script for this new comedy, he stated: “‘Yes, now I can turn this lead into a little bit of gold!’” Read Cage’s comments regarding that experience below:
“Well, in the name of Thespis, it was no acting please. I felt like I had the life experience. What had happened to me, I might have been the first actor who woke up one morning and somebody put a montage of me having meltdown moments and freaking out, and cherry-picking from different movies and then put it online, I think it was called ‘Nicolas Cage Loses His Sh-t’. And then it went viral overnight around the world and I kept looking at ‘What is happening to me?’ It kept growing exponentially… nothing I could do, could stop it. I couldn’t stop it legally; I couldn’t stop it anyway. I sat there, and it started going in this memeification, with photoshopping and T-shirts, and I said, ‘I gotta put this somewhere, and then I read Dream Scenario and I said ‘Yes, now I can turn this lead into a little bit of gold!’“
Will Dream Scenario Produce Any Memes?
The Cage video montage was created years ago and went viral online. It included a lot of footage from Cage’s movies, highlighting memorable scenes from Vampire’s Kiss, Deadfall, Matchstick Men, The Wicker Man, and more. Many of his roles, especially those involving bursts of emotion, have been turned into memes as well. Cage previously discussed his memes and, in terms of people’s fixation on those kinds of performances, revealed that he has yet to figure it out.
When it comes to Dream Scenario, it will be interesting to see how audiences respond to his character and if the role will become outlandish in any way. In the movie, Cage is reportedly playing a man who gains celebrity status after being recognized from other’s dreams. Considering writer and director Kristoffer Borgli’s past work with Ari Aster as the co-producer, it seems likely that anticipation will be high for a similar performance-driven work from Cage.
Given his comments and Dream Scenario‘s premise, it’s worth wondering whether Cage brought any other personal experiences to his performance. Now, there are hopes for another meme-worthy scene after the first image for Dream Scenario revealed Cage’s different look as the professor character.
