Hollywood actor Nicolas Cage has shared that he makes sure he never gets "trapped" into "doing one thing." While at the Spider-Noir premiere at the Regal Times Square in New York City, the 62-year-old Oscar winner explained whether he had a preference between playing heroes or villains across his extensive career, according to People magazine.
Nicolas Cage on Heroes vs. Villains
He told People, "Villain? I've played plenty of villains. I like both. I think they're both important parts of cinema. I would not want to get trapped into doing one thing."
Nearly Playing Green Goblin
He also explained that he talked to Spider-Man director Sam Raimi about possibly playing Green Goblin in the early 2000s, but he decided to star in 2002's Adaptation, as he felt that "was the right choice at the time."
"I decided to do another movie, a much smaller noir of sorts, more romantic than tragic noir. But I remember saying to Sam, 'I hope whoever you cast (as Spider-Man) really embraces the arachnid body language, at least for one moment. Alone in his apartment, he's crawling on the ceiling or something,'" he added.
As per People, the part of Green Goblin ultimately went to Willem Dafoe, while Tobey Maguire starred as Spider-Man.
Oscar Nominations and Wins
Meanwhile, Nicolas Cage was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor for starring in Adaptation. He previously won an Oscar for Best Actor for 1995's Leaving Las Vegas.
Later Marvel Roles and Villainous Turns
After passing on Green Goblin, he got another chance to star in Marvel films as Ghost Rider in the 2007 film and its 2011 sequel, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. He has also dabbled in playing villains over the years, like becoming unrecognizable to portray an eerie serial killer in 2024's Longlegs and showcasing his alter ego Nicky Cage in 2022's meta flick The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.
