It’s weird what to see what sometimes penetrates the pop-culture zeitgeist to become a viral sensation – and if you wanted proof that the line between what goes viral and what goes nowhere on social media is as thin as paper, this is probably it:
At first glance you might just say, “Oh hey, that’s David Schwimmer’s Ross from Friends! What’s so special about that? However, look again and look close: That’s actually David Schwimmer with a Nic Cage face-swap!
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This particular face-swap post has been climbing up Reddit and is officially going viral now. What’s freaking fans out is the fact that putting Cage’s face on Schwimmer doesn’t create the usual uncanny (or downright disturbing) face-swap amalgamation; on the contrary, putting Cage’s face on Schwimmer’s body circa the 1990s Friends era only seems to make Ross… more Rossy?
The way that Cage’s expression melds right into Schwimmer’s face is pretty uncanny. It’s ridiculously seamless in the way it fits, and even more ridiculous in the way that Cage’s expression totally fits Ross’s personality. If anything, there’s probably a case to be made for why casting Nic Cage in Friends would’ve made Ross even more of the Ross-type character – but that’s probably just a fallacy. After all, Schwimmer was the architect of the version of Ross that is now so well known and loved; if Cage had actually landed that role, then “Crazy Ross Face” memes would be what we have now. More to the point: the same 1990s heyday when Friends ruled the TV airwaves was also the time that Cage was completing some of his most acclaimed work, in films like Leaving Las Vegas, Con Air, Face/Off, City of Angels, and other films. Heading to TV would’ve robbed Cage of what is arguably his most accomplished body of work!
If nothing else, the crazy amount of attention this face-swap image is getting confirms two things:
- Friends is still enjoying a massive resurgence, and is probably worth the astronomical price in licensing that Netflix paid to stream it.
- Nic Cage 👏 is 👏 still 👏 the 👏man👏!
On the movie front, Cage just finished a successful year of performances, gaining major critical acclaim thanks to Panos Cosmatos’ breakout horror hit, Mandy, as well as some scene-stealing voice cameos in both a hit DC animated flick (Teen Titans Go! To the Movies) and a Marvel one (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse). His slate for 2019 and 2020 seems full with promising projects, so keep an eye open to see Cage’s face onscreen, in its usual splendor!
