Next year marks the 40th anniversary of Nicolas Cage’s feature film debut in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and the actor has been on a constantly-evolving journey since then that’s never been anything less than fascinating.
He’s gone from the eccentric maverick of independent cinema to an Academy Award-winning powerhouse, before he became a box office draw and cinema’s biggest action hero after headlining The Rock, Con Air and Face/Off within the space of twelve months.
Then came the descent into VOD mediocrity that saw him sign on to virtually everything that came his way, but the 2021 version of Cage appears to have settled into a groove as an actor focused on sounding out the best material that appeals to his unique sensibilities as a performer.
Whether that’s insane psychological thrillers like Mandy, Color out of Space and Prisoners of the Ghostland, demented B-movie Willy’s Wonderland or self-aware action comedy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, the 57 year-old is in the midst of his hottest streak in a very long time.
To cap it all off, intimate character-driven drama Pig scored the best Rotten Tomatoes score of Cage’s entire filmography, and has established him as a potential dark horse candidate in next year’s Best Actor race. It’s an incredible turn from a talent that’s more than capable of reminding everyone why he’s held in such high regard by his peers, and it’s now streaming on Hulu for subscribers to witness for themselves.
