Nicolas Cage Was Into Streaming ‘Before It Was Cool’

Actor Nicolas Cage is best known for his film roles like “Con Air,” “Face/Off,” and “National Treasure.” More recently, he’s appeared in movies like “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” “Pig,” and “Longlegs.” However, he recently starred in “Spider-Noir,” a neo-noir superhero series based on the Marvel comic. Even though it surprised some of his fans to see him in a TV show, Cage admitted that he’s always been “friendly to streaming” even before it went mainstream.

While promoting “Spider-Noir,” Cage sat down with Deadline to talk about his role in the show. The publication noted that this can be considered his first major TV role, despite his decades of acting experience. When asked if he would consider more streaming roles in the future, Cage admitted that he has always been open to streaming.

“I was friendly to streaming a long time ago, before it was cool. [The media would say], ‘Oh, he’s doing straight-to-streaming movies,’ like it was unheard of, like, shame on me,” he explained. “But now, everything is going that way. It’s like when Halston went to make dresses for JCPenney, and they dumped him, and the snobs dialed him out. Now everybody does it. “

Cage Opens Up On The Benefits Of Streaming

Fans who go to a movie theater to watch a movie can only see it once before they have to pay for another ticket. With streaming, fans can watch the movie multiple times and pick up on things they may not have grasped the first time around. To Cage, this is a major benefit to streaming movies.

“It’s like I know that I discovered that if I make a movie that streams, it will become part of a collection and someone who enjoys downloading movies will be able to view it and re-view it,” he said. “And I like to do that. I always like watching things multiple times and learning something new from a movie, mainly Stanley Kubrick movies.”

He went on to say, “But anyway, I knew streaming would ultimately keep actors working and keep the work viewable. So, I navigated that, but it wasn’t cool when I started doing it.”

Nicolas Cage Is Starring In The ‘Madden’ Biopic

“Madden” is an upcoming sports biopic directed by David O. Russell. He co-wrote the film based on an earlier version created by Cambron Clark. The movie will follow the life of football coach and commentator John Madden, who will be portrayed by Cage. The biopic will also star an A-list cast of Christian Bale, Kathryn Hahn, John Mulaney, Shane Gillis, and Sienna Miller. “Madden” is scheduled to be released on Amazon Prime Video on November 26, 2026.

When speaking to Deadline about his role in “Madden,” he admitted that it was “a bit of a learning curve” and a “fast cut.”

“When you do a season of television, it’s equivalent to making four movies back-to-back. It’s a lot. So, I was talking like an old-world film noir actor for a long time and then suddenly David O. Russell is inviting me to play this famous football coach, who was also a TV personality, who had a very specific way of talking, nothing like a film noir actor,” Cage said, adding, “And frankly, nothing like me.”

Nicolas Cage Admits He Has ‘Nothing In Common’ With John Madden

Cage went on to confess that he had “nothing in common with John Madden” and found that the greatest “challenge” in accepting the role.

“But when we rehearsed, David tried to help me find the voice, and I said to him, ‘It may not be anatomically possible, OK?’” he said with a laugh. “So, I figured that maybe we’d just make a cocktail of the John Madden sound with a little of this and that, and we’ll reintroduce something of my version of his voice.”

During the interview, Cage also touched on the roles that he is most known for. He revealed that he was recently in New Orleans when a fan approached him to comment on his role in “Gone in 60 Seconds.” Otherwise, he feels that he is best recognized for his roles in “Face/Off” and the “National Treasure” franchise.

When asked about the “Pig fanboys,” Cage joked, “They’re always following me around.”