‘I didn’t get into movies to become a meme’: Nicolas Cage voices his frustrations at becoming the poster boy for onscreen meltdowns

Even if you haven’t seen the projects in question, there’s a distinct possibility you can recognize any number of Nicolas Cage movies entirely from memes.

That’s what happens when one actor gains an entirely new lease of life on the internet, with countless “Cage Rage” compilations, reactions, and GIFs constantly churning out new nuggets of content derived from the Academy Award winner’s back catalogue.

Funnily enough, though, Cage revealed to The Guardian that he did not follow his dreams of becoming an actor solely for the purpose of memeification, and it’s even caused him plenty of frustration that so many people are aware of certain aspects of his work without knowing the full story.

“I got into acting because I was moved by film performance more than any other art form. I didn’t get into movies to become a meme. That was new. I made friends with it but it was an adjustment. I thought maybe they would compel someone to go back and look at the movies. But I had no control over it. The same thing happens with Paul in Dream Scenario: he has no control over this inexplicable phenomenon. One person had cherrypicked from all these different movies where I was having meltdowns, but without any regard for how the character got to that place. I was frustrated because I didn’t know what people were taking from the movies other than that.”

Even if it wasn’t for the online obsession, Cage has proven himself to be eccentric and outlandish enough in his own right to gain cult status for his unique approach to the business, and the memes just so happen to be a byproduct that’s long since been cemented in internet folklore.