Nicolas Cage says he's done with movies, wants to try TV

"I do feel I've said what I've had to say with cinema."

December 5, 2023, 12:19 PM

Nicolas Cage may be trading the big screen for the small screen in the near future.

The "Leaving Las Vegas" actor, who turns 60 in January, told Vanity Fair in a new interview that he "may have three or four more movies left" in him.

"I do feel I've said what I've had to say with cinema," he added. "I think I took film performances as far as I could."

In a separate interview with UPROXX, Cage said that "after 45 years" of acting in "over 100 movies," he's hoping to switch formats and give television a shot.

PHOTO: Nicolas Cage attends the 2023 SFFILM Awards Night to receive the Maria Manetti Shrem Lifetime Achievement Award for Acting at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on December 04, 2023 in San Francisco.
Nicolas Cage attends the 2023 SFFILM Awards Night to receive the Maria Manetti Shrem Lifetime Achievement Award for Acting at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on December 04, 2023 in San Francisco.
Steve Jennings/Getty Images

Throughout his career, the "Dream Scenario" actor has rarely, if ever, done television. Aside from a TV pilot he filmed as a teen, a couple of appearances on "Saturday Night Live" and presenting a Netflix docuseries about swear words in 2021, Cage has stuck to films.

So what led Cage to want to give TV a shot? A little show called "Breaking Bad."

"I have seen things that can be done now with characters and the time they're given to express themselves," he said. "I saw Bryan Cranston stare at a suitcase for an hour on one episode of 'Breaking Bad.' We don't have time to do that in a feature film, so maybe television is the next best step for me. We'll see."

"I'm a student and I don't know if I have anything else to learn in cinema," he continued. "I might have something to learn in television."

In both interviews, Cage also expressed a desire to spend more time with his family, noting he has a baby daughter with his wife, Riko Shibata. Cage is also dad to two adult sons, Weston and Kal-El, from previous relationships.