Nicolas Cage Reveals He Thought He Was an Alien and Was Shocked to Learn the Truth

By Russ Burlingame

Apparently Nicolas Cage spent part of his childhood convinced he was from another planet. The actor, who is part of the extended Coppola family, said during a recent interview that his father had told him as a child that he was "such an alien," and that Cage took him literally, assuming that he actually wasn't a regular person from Earth. Apparently, that led to a pretty funny interaction with a doctor the first time he learned that he had "normal organs and a normal skeleton." Yeah, this is when he was a child and years before he became a living meme -- but still, you have to admit that would have been a pretty funny time to be a fly on the wall.

Apparently, the idea that he was an alien seemed plausible to Cage, because he had so much difficulty connecting with other people. In the interview, he says that's what led him to pursue a career in acting.

"I was shocked the day I went to the doctor's office as a child and I found out that I had normal organs and a normal skeleton," Cage told Rampstyle, "because I was certain I was from another planet."

"I had difficulties connecting with people," Cage added. "When I saw David Bowie in The Man Who Fell to Earth, I realized I needed to do something, so I became an actor."

Cage most recently played an over-the-top version of himself in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. In recent years, he has sprinkled some truly eccentric movies like Mandy and Pig into a career filled with blockbuster hits -- but he has not totally turned his back on mainstream fare. A third National Treasure movie is reportedly in development, and Cage has expressed an interest in returning to that franchise several times over the years.

 "Much of it is by design—I kind of actively wanted to shape a perception of myself when I was really young," Cage told Vanity Fair in 2021. "I've been doing this since I was 15…sometimes when you start out that young, you really want to make a mark. And I did things as a young person in the industry and in magazine interviews and on television in England, for example, that I can't imagine doing again at 57, but nonetheless I did do it. I wanted to create a kind of wild and artistic and bizarre image. I have changed in terms of what I want to express, and what I want my perception to be."

He added, "I personally think I'm very boring. I find myself perfectly content staying at home and playing with my cats or spending time with my boys, who are now older and into their own interests. I spend a lot of quiet time at home alone with my wife, Riko [Shibata], and with our pets. I don't see [my life] as dangerous or wild, although I do think there is a certain pleasure that is taken in imagining that I am crazy."

Trending Now: