According to Nicolas Cage, the unwritten law of karaoke has been violated.
The 57 year old actor sat down for an annual actor roundtable hosted by The Hollywood Reporter. During the roundtable, he said singing is “therapy”. However, that all changed for Cage when a video of him went viral online in 2019. Footage of the performer belting out Prince’s “Purple Rain” at karaoke was leaked. “Well, yeah, for me, karaoke was like therapy until someone videotaped my punk-rock version of Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ and it went everywhere and I said, ‘I’m not going to karaoke anymore,’” Cage said.
“Spiderman: No Way Home” and “Tick Tick Boom” star Andrew Garfield was also at the roundtable Garfield responded to Cage’s karaoke anecdote, “”Don’t steal the gift from the world. You need to keep giving.” Cage explained, “Well, singing is therapy, I think. Absolutely. Karaoke’s supposed to be private. It’s like a prayer.” Garfield jokes back, “Nic is just using this platform to get out his gripes, I guess, the person who’s leaked the karaoke video….”
Nicolas Cage Says the Audition Process Is ‘Terrifying’
During the roundtable discussion, Nicolas Cage also touched on the process of auditioning for roles with fellow actors, and how “terrifying” it can be. “In a casting office, how would they really know if something was great? If it was truly great, it would be unlike anything they’d seen before, it would be original, and that would probably terrify them,” Cage explains. He continues, “They’re not going to know greatness when they see it. They don’t know better than we know. They don’t. We know… what we can bring. We know what our instrument is.” The long time actor adds, “They either, very rarely, have that eye where they can go, ‘Oh, wow, I felt it,’ or they’re by and large going to be terrified of it, which is what my experience was.”
With over 117 movies under his belt, Nicolas Cage certainly knows what he’s talking about when it comes to acting. While karaoke may be in Nic Cage’s past, the “Pig” star says acting is something he’ll never quit. In a chat with Entertainment Weekly, as reported by People Magazine, Cage clarified retirement is nowhere on his radar. “That can’t happen. To do what I do in cinema has been like a guardian angel for me, and I need it,” he said. “I’m healthier when I’m working, I need a positive place to express my life experience, and filmmaking has given me that. So I’m never going to retire.”
Acting Continues To Challenge Cage In New Ways
The performer also explained how important it is for him to care about his art in order for it to do well. Cage also adds that his career continues to challenge him even after all the years of experience he has. “At my age, the job that I have is to stay interested, because if I’m not interested, you’re not going to be interested,” he said. “It gets more difficult the older we get. So I have to find new ways of expressing myself, new challenges.
The actor did, however, mention taking some sort of break after his next couple of movies. We can’t wait to see what Nicolas Cage does next!
