Nicolas Cage Defends His Unique Acting Style

Nicolas Cage is, let's say, a unique actor; suffice to say, he divides opinion.

But while some people aren't quite enamoured by his outlandish style of filmmaking, he couldn't care less.

Speaking about the criticism he sometimes receives, the 57-year-old said he loves getting big performances out of his characters even if some people don't understand it.

He told Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast.: "It was my aunt Talia Shire who first said to me, 'Naturalism is a style'.

"And I was also a big believer in arts synchronicity, and that what you could do with one art form you could do and another meaning. You know, in painting, for example, you can get abstract, you can get photorealistic, you can get impressionistic, why not try that with film performance?"

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Looking back at his career, Cage picked out films such as Face/Off as examples of times where he's been able to try something different.

He said: "I was experimenting with what I would like to call Western Kabuki or more Baroque or operatic style of film performance. Break free from the naturalism, so to speak, and express a larger way of performance.

"Well, when they say that to me, I say, ‘You tell me where the top is and I’ll tell you whether or not I’m over it'."

But if the reviews are to be believed, Cage's new movie Pig could see him return to the top.

Directed by an up an coming filmmaker, Michael Sarnoski, the film sees Cage play a reclusive Portland-based truffle forager Rob, whose beloved foraging pig goes missing. 

He sets out to find those responsible for the cruel theft, while also exploring his tortured relationship with his past self - having once been a renowned chef. 

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Praising the director for taking a chance on him, the actor said: "I always knew that it would take a young filmmaker who would come back or remember some movies I had made and know that I might be right for his script and rediscover me.

"And that’s why he’s not just Michael, he’s Archangel Michael. This wouldn’t be happening if he didn’t have the open mind to say, 'Come with me'."

Since it was released, the movie has received mightily impressive 97 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

The critics' consensus reads: "Like the animal itself, Pig defies the hogwash of expectations with a beautiful odyssey of loss and love anchored by Nicolas Cage's affectingly raw performance."

One such critic, Thrillist's Emma Stefansky, compared Rob's tale of vengeance to John Wick - a parallel many are making.

Stefansky wrote: "Pig is as moody and deliberate as its protagonist, owing less to a straightforward thriller like Taken and more to the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, a journey into the underworld on faith alone, in which love is tested, harsh truths are revealed, and heartbreak is inevitable."