Few actors are as intriguing as Nicolas Cage. The recent comedy The Unbearable Wight of Massive Talent had fun diving into Cage's career, from his most iconic roles to his most infamous ones. From the indie movie star to the action hero to the guy in a bunch of straight-to-DVD movies, it is a fascinating career.
Cage has proven plenty of times that he is a very talented actor, but he is also very bold. Sometimes his choices are perfect for the movie he is in and sometimes they are so wildly wrong that they become entertaining for another reason. Here are some of Cage's funniest moments that might not have been intentional.
Low Rider - Gone In Sixty Seconds (2000)
Gone in Sixty Second is a fun popcorn heist movie that finds Cage leading a team of car thieves. The criminals have one day to steal several high-end automobiles which makes for an intense and wild ride.
But it is Cage's unique way of pumping up his team that will elicit some giggles. He stoically demands the song "Low Rider" be played as he very seriously mediates. Cage's intense concentration mixed with the goofy song choice is just silly.
Cake Fight - The Family Man (2000)
It is not often fans see Cage in the kind of heartwarming romance movie like The Family Man but he is surprisingly effective. Cage stars as a rich businessman who is magically shown what his life would have been like if he stayed with his ex-girlfriend and had a family.
In one scene, Cage returns home to find his wife has eaten the piece of cake he had saved which leads to them playfully wrestling over the dessert. But while it is meant to be charming, there are moments when it seems Cage's intensity makes it seem as though he could snap at any moment and turn this cake fight deadly.
Stealing A Bike - Pig (2021)
Cage's recent performance in Pig was hailed as one of his best and one of the best thrillers of 2021. He plays a reclusive man who sets out to find his beloved pet pig which was stolen. Though it is one of his most reserved performances, Cage does find a moment to let out his trademark outburst.
As he sets out to confront the man who had his pig stolen, Cage steals a bike to ride. When the bike owner confronts him, Cage simply yells in his face and rides off. It is such an unexpected moment in an otherwise quiet role.
Rocket Man - The Rock (1996)
Though he eventually developed a reputation as an action hero, there was a time when Cage felt like a very odd choice for the genre. The Rock plays on that feeling quite well as he is cast as a meek biochemist called upon to save the day.
During the climax of the movie, Cage is cornered by a villain. As a way of distracting him, he asks if he likes the song "Rocket Man" by Elton John. He then says, "You're the Rocket Man" and launches a missile into the villain. It is such a convoluted set up to such a corny action movie one-liner that it is hard not to laugh.
How Did It Get Burned? - The Wicker Man (2006)
Though the original was a brilliant horror movie, the remake of The Wicker Man starring Nicolas Cage is a notorious movie that is so bad it's good. Cage plays a police officer investigating a missing child case on a remote island inhabited by a strange cult.
The biggest problem with the movie is that the people on this island seem relatively normal compared to Cage, who is going wild in this role. The scene where he interrogates the child's mother about some burned clothes is a good example of how Cage can turn a simple line into a hilariously crazed moment.
Prison Fight - Face/Off (1997)
If there is one movie whose premise can compare to the madness of Cage's persona, it is Face/Off. This wild action movie stars John Travolta as an FBI agent who switches faces with a terrorist (Cage) for reasons that frankly don't matter.
While Travolta gets to play the fun villain role for most of the movie, Cage finds ways to inject his signature kookiness as the hero stuck with the face of a man. During one prison brawl sequence, Cage gets to pull all kinds of crazy faces while hooting and hollering, which eventually leads to his crying.
Alphabet - Vampire's Kiss (1988)
Cage will soon get the chance to play the iconic role of Dracula in the Renfield, but he's already played a vampire memorably before. Vampire's Kiss is another movie that seems perfectly tailored to Cage's type of performance as it allows him to really go wild. He plays a successful executive who begins to think that he is turning into a vampire.
Though it is a horror-comedy, there are some moments where Cage takes a simple line and turns it into a hilariously out-of-control moment. In one scene, he asks a colleague if they know the alphabet and then proceeds to spout the entire alphabet while flailing his arms around wildly.
Transformation - Ghost Rider (2007)
After his Superman movie fell apart, Cage finally got the chance to play a superhero in Ghost Rider. Sadly, Cage plays his role surprisingly straight, which contributes to it being an entirely forgettable movie. However, there is one moment in which Cage really unleashes himself and has some fun.
The scene is the first time Johnny Blaze (Cage) transforms into the flame-headed Ghost Rider. As his face burns up, Cage goes bug-eyed and starts screaming in high-pitched agony which then turns into insane laughter.
Bear Costume - The Wicker Man (2006)
One of the great things about The Wicker Man is how off-the-rails it continues to get as it goes along. There are also so many moments that one could pick out with zero context and still find hilarious.
One of the best examples of this comes as the island's citizens are planning their ritual for their annual honey harvest. This includes someone dres as a bear and, of course, Cage steals the costume for himself. Seeing Cage waddling around in a bear costume while punching a woman in the face is such a surreal experience.
His Accent - Con Air (1997)
It was quite surprising that Cage became a veritable action movie star following his Oscar-winning role in Leaving Las Vegas. This unexpected run included the absurd and hugely entertaining movie, Con Air.
Cage plays the heroic Cameron Poe, a noble man being released from prison who finds himself on a prison transport plane taken over by the convicts. Cage talks in an over-the-top Southern accent throughout the movie that makes anything he says unintentionally funny.
