Nicolas Cage is making a film where he's playing a 'highly-neurotic, anxiety-ridden version' of himself - but he's refusing to watch it, despite being told it's a 'good movie'.
Cage fans can catch the star in the forthcoming action-comedy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, which is due for release in April 2022 (which, depressingly, isn't even that far away now).
In the film by Tom Gormican, Cage plays a fictionalised version of himself, starring alongside the likes of Pedro Pascal, Sharon Horgan, Tiffany Haddish and Neil Patrick Harris.
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The plot follows Cage as he begrudgingly accepts an invite to attend a birthday party of Mexican billionaire super fan and notorious drug lord Javi (Pascal), who forces Cage to recreate some of his most iconic characters in order to save his kidnapped wife and daughter.
The storyline requires the actor to have two roles - one as a down-and-out struggling actor trying to return to his glory days, and another as his younger self from when he was a huge star.
Sounds like a weird and wonderful ride - not that Cage has any idea, as he's vowed not to watch it.
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Speaking to Collider, he said: "I'm never going to see that movie.
"I'm told it's a good movie. My manager, Mike Nilon, who is also a producer on it, looked at it. He was very happy. I'm told the audience loved the movie.
"But it's just too much of a whacked-out trip for me to go to a movie theater and watch me play Tom Gormican's highly-neurotic, anxiety-ridden version of me."
Cage continued: "[Tom] kept pushing me in that direction. I said, 'Tom, that's not really me. I'm really [made of] quiet, meditative, thoughtful moments. I'm not this neurotic, high-strung, anxiety-ridden guy all the time.'
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"But he said, 'Well, neurotic Cage is the best Cage.'
"I said, 'Okay, okay. Let's go, man. I'll do what you want.'
"I won't see it. But I do hope you enjoy it."
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Cage also tole Empire last year that the film is 'definitely just me "taking the p***", as they say, out of myself.'
He added: "It's a stylised version of me, and the fact I even have to refer to myself in the third person makes me extremely uncomfortable.
"I don't like to look back. But this movie kind of pushes it all back in my face."
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is due to hit cinemas on 22 April 2022.
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Featured Image Credit: PA
Topics: Entertainment, TV and Film, Celebrity