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Nicolas Cage on Begging His Uncle to Cast Him in ‘Godfather: Part III’: ‘Wasn’t Going to Happen’

More than 30 years after the release of the film Godfather: Part III, actor Nicolas Cage recalls begging producer and his uncle Francis Ford Coppola to cast him in the film. 

During a recent interview with  Andrew Garfield, Jonathan Majors, Peter Dinklage, and Simon Rex for The Hollywood Reporter’s Actor Roundtable, Nicolas Cage revealed that although he discussed his interest in being cast for Godfather: Part III to his uncle, the conversation didn’t go the way he thought it would.

“This is a very embarrassing answer to your question,” Nicolas Cage admitted to the media outlet. “Because it involves family. So, Uncle [Coppola] was doing Godfather III, and I said, ‘I really think I ought to be in your movie, Uncle. I really think it’s a good idea if you would cast me. I think I could play this part.”

Nicolas Cage also explained that while his uncle had already been set on casting Andy Garcia as Vincent Corleone, who was the son of Sonny Corleone, who was played by James Caan. “I said, ‘But I just see myself more as James Caan’s son, and he’s playing Sonny’s son. He’s not playing Michael’s son. He’s Sonny’s son. I just feel a little more James Caan.’ It just wasn’t going to happen. So that was a movie I didn’t get let in that I really wanted to be in.”

The Godfather: Part III premiered on Christmas Day in 1990. Garcia even scored a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his performance in the film. Despite not getting the role in Godfather: Part III, Nicholas Cage went on to have some memorable roles in various popular films, including Face/Off, National Treasure, Con Air, and The Rock. 

Nicolas Cage States that People Don’t Like the Word ‘Movie Star’ 

While continuing his discussion for The Hollywood Reporter’s Actor Roundtable, Nicolas Cage spoke about the recent tragedy that occurred on the set of Rust and the use of guns. “I don’t want to cast blame anywhere,” he explained. “But I do think, and I”m not talking about anybody, but people don’t like the word movie star.”

Nicolas Cage goes on to state that he and others just want to be humble actors, but a movie star is a bit of a different kind of presentation. “You need to know how to ride a horse. You need to know how to fight. You’re going to do fight scenes. You need to take the time to know what the procedure is. Those are part of the job profiles.”

Nicolas Cage went o to add that stunt man and a movie star are two jobs that coexist. “Every stunt man needs to be a movie star. And every movie star needs to be a stunt man. That’s just part of the profile. And that’s all I’m going to say about it.”