Nicolas Cage named his top movies, sticking mostly with modern fare, although he did give special recognition to some fan favs.
Lists are a time-honored tradition in the world of cinema. Best 100 this, Top 10 that. As such, every now and then, actors are asked to name their favorite performances. This week, the prolific Nicolas Cage, who has more than 200 movies to his credit, was tasked with just that.
While appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to promote Renfield, the host asked Nicolas Cage for his top five, well, Nicolas Cage movies. It didn’t take long for Cage to rattle off his picks. And now, in no particular order: Pig (2021), mandy (2018), Bringing Out the Dead (1999), Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009), and Joe (2013).
As you can see, for the most part, Nicolas Cage picked movies from the most recent phase of his career, with three coming from the last decade. Colbert, meanwhile, cited 1997’s Front/Off as a personal favorite, prompting Cage to declare, “Oh, I like that one a lot! I love Front/Off.” On older movies, Cage cited 1998’s Vampire’s Kiss as a runner-up–and if you’re not familiar with that one, you’ve at least been hit with the “You don’t say?” even. And while it has become a cult classic that Cage loves, we do suspect he worked it in to tie into Renfieldwhere he plays Count Dracula.
Give Nicolas Cage some more time and he might have an updated list of his favorite movies. Not only is he a massive talent, but he has a number of projects lined up, including horror flick Sympathy for the Devilcrime actioner The Retirement Plan and comedy Dream Scenario alongside Michael Cera and Julianne Nicholson.
Of note, in a JoBlo.com poll from last year, not a single one of the actor’s picks made it to the fan-voted list of favorite Nicolas Cage movies. Instead, it went: The Rock, Front/Off, Raising Arizona, Con Airand National Treasure. Sorry, no votes for City of Angels. For what it’s worth, my personal favorite Nicolas Cage movies are Leaving Las Vegas, Adaptation, Bringing Out the Dead, Red Rock Westand Raising Arizona.
What are your top five Nicolas Cage movies?