National Treasure Star Nicolas Cage Went on a Real Search for the Holy Grail

Actor Nicolas Cage is known for his compelling personas both on and off the screen, having starred in a number of both independent and mainstream hits. One of his more popular roles is Benjamin Franklin Gates from the National Treasure series, who connected clues that uncovered mysterious artifacts from history. Searching for such artifacts isn’t limited to his on-screen role, as the actor recently admitted that he inadvertently found himself searching for the location of the Holy Grail. While he might not have found the religious relic, he did come up with some answers that made the search philosophically fulfilling.

“I almost went on — you might call it a grail quest,” Cage revealed to The New York Times. “I started following mythology, and I was finding properties that aligned with that. It was almost like National Treasure. Of course, that didn’t sustain. On top of which, I said, ‘I’m going to get off philosophy,’ because I became like a kite with a string but no anchor. No one could understand what I was talking about. And I thought people would rather see me as an orangutan than as an eagle meditating on the mountaintop anyway.”

The actor hadn’t realized he was setting out on such a mission, but various clues and details he uncovered inspired him to continue those threads in hopes of discovery.

“One thing would lead to another,” Cage continued. “It’s like when you build a library. You read a book, and in it there’s a reference to another book, and then you buy that book, and then you attach the references. For me it was all about where was the grail? Was it here? Was it there? Is it at Glastonbury? Does it exist?”

He added, “If you go to Glastonbury and go to the Chalice Well, there’s a spring that does taste like blood. I guess it’s really because there’s a lot of iron in the water. But legend had it that in that place was a grail chalice, or two cruets rather, one of blood and one of sweat. But that led to there being talk that people had come to Rhode Island, and they were looking for something as well.”

Had Cage discovered the mythological relic, it likely would have been major, worldwide news. Despite the actor failing to discover a religious artifact, the quest was far from fruitless.

“This had put me on a search around different areas, mostly in England, but also some places in the States,” the actor explained. “What I ultimately found is: What is the Grail but Earth itself?”

Sadly, with no official word on a third National Treasure film moving forward, we’ll have to settle for Cage’s personal pursuits to keep us entertained.