Happy Birthday! Nicolas Cage Turns 53 Years Old Today

Happy birthday, Nicolas Cage! The actor is celebrating his 53rd birthday today.

Nicolas Cage was born as Nicolas Kim Coppola, but he took the professional name Nicolas Cage, which was inspired in part by the Marvel Comics superhero Luke Cage. Cage is an American actor, who has starred in wide variety of films.

His love for comics never really dissipated, as one of Cage's best-known roles is that of Marvel character Ghost Rider. Cage starred in Ghost Rider and a sequel called Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Cage also starred as Big Daddy in Kick-Ass, which was based on a Mark Millar comic book, but perhaps he's even more well-known for a part he ended up not playing. The actor was set to play Superman in Tim Burton's Superman Lives project that never saw the big screen but was detailed in the Superman documentary about the ill-fated film.

Besides Ghost Rider and Kick-Ass, some of Cage's other notable films include Peggy Sue Got Married, Raising Arizona, Moonstruck, Time To Kill, Honeymoon in Vegas, The Rock, Con Air, Face/Off, Gone in Sixty Seconds, and The Wicker Man. Cage won an Oscar for his role in Leaving Las Vegas, and he was nominated for an Oscar for his role in Adaptation.

Cage's other hit series, National Treasure, is awaiting a third entry. It's been heavily rumored that it is still in development, and Cage has previously said the delay is due to the script writing process.

"I haven't really heard anything about that. I do know that those scripts are very difficult to write, because there has to be some credibility in terms of the facts and fact-checking, because it was relying on historical events. And then you have to make it entertaining. I know that it's been a challenge to get the script where it needs to be. That's as much as I've heard. But they're still working on it."

Cage will next be seen in Arsenal but also has several films on deck for 2017 including The Humanity Bureau, Mom and Dad, Looking Glass, Inconceivable, and Vengeance: A Love Story.

Happy Birthday, Nicolas Cage!