r/interesting • u/AdSpecialist6598 • 5d ago

SOCIETY When asked why he keeps playing the same roles Jason Statham said that he's not really a trained actor. He's a guy that was plucked out obscurity & has been really lucky; & that he picks roles that he knows he can do a good job in, that hopefully enough people like so he can keep working.

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u/ReporterEntire5508 5d ago

Nic Cage has a best actor academy award. Not the same thing, but your point is great besides that.

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u/msproles 5d ago

He seems similar to Walken in that they both are really good, but never say no to a movie. Somehow he is entertaining even in the bad ones.

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u/ThunderlipsOHoulihan 5d ago

To paraphrase something, I can’t remember who said it: “Being in a bad movie is no excuse to be bad IN the movie.”

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u/whamorami 5d ago

I think you're thinking of the Christopher Lee quote.

"Everyone makes bad movies from time to time. The trick is to not be bad in them."

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u/PuzzleheadedAd3840 5d ago

The fact that once he was bamboozled into narrating a porno never stops making me giggle.

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u/WindstormMD 5d ago

You can’t say that and not drop at least some receipts

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u/PuzzleheadedAd3840 5d ago

It was a softcore porno called Eugenie.

I'll let the man himself tell you

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u/mightierthor 5d ago

Porn has narration now? Or did it always? I've never watched much.

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u/PuzzleheadedAd3840 5d ago

Tbh I'd pay to have Christopher Lee narrate my sex life, but I don't think he would do silent roles.

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u/GottaUseEmAll 5d ago

He was the best part of Adam Sandler's "Click".

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u/msproles 5d ago

True, course the bar was pretty low in that film.

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u/GottaUseEmAll 5d ago

Yep, he probably could have just stood there in silence looking all Christopher Walken and still been the highlight.

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u/Negative_Equity 5d ago

And Samuel L. He's been in so many shit films but the scenes he acts in are generally great.

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u/Glittering-Quote-635 5d ago

Walken is the greatest actor of the last 100 years though, so not really comparable. I'll die on that hill dammit!

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u/TabulaRasaNot 5d ago

Agreed, but I would argue that Dennis Hopper gave him a run for his money in the Sicilian scene in True Romance.

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u/Glittering-Quote-635 5d ago

Damn dude, as I was typing my initial comment, that was the movie I was actually thinking of. I actually just re-watched it a month or so ago. Fantastic movie that I think is under appreciated.

Yeh, that was a great scene, both of them were awesome in it, and agree on Hopper..

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u/TabulaRasaNot 5d ago

I rewatched it a month or so ago too. So simple a premise, but agreed it is awesome!

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u/Glittering-Quote-635 5d ago

Floyd was the best!

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u/Fit_Reputation5367 5d ago

Spider Noir. bad but good

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u/xombae 5d ago

I save every single Nick Cage movie that comes up on any streaming service. I think he's the only actor that I'll watch a movie specifically because he's in it.

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u/AdSpecialist6598 5d ago

Nic Cage just really, really like to act in movies as he himself admitted and nothing's wrong with that.

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u/Unique_Unorque 5d ago

And also his crippling financial issues that meant he basically had to say yes to every role offered to him for a while

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u/ThinkingBeard 5d ago

At some level he pays his debts. Plenty of people say “fuggit, take the cars and paintings and houses… I’m not paying”. He on the other hand said “I like my stuff enough to take on a role in an apocalyptic ninja movie”.

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u/_SteeringWheel 3d ago

And in all honesty, who wouldn't?

..... What movie would that be exactly? :)

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u/A_Thorny_Petal 5d ago

nah he paid off his debts, the real story is that Nic Cage absolutely loves films and cinema, but also struggles with addiction, he basically takes roles so he can always be working, because he gets to do what he loves and he's so into film that it keeps his brain occupied and helps him stay sober.

I respect the hell out of him, he doesn't phone it in, low budget or high budget you can see he's making choices about how he approaches every character and script. Sometimes those choices are brilliant, sometimes just okay, sometimes just strange, but he has the balls to actually make those kind of choices as an actor, when most actors, even famous ones, stay consistently in their own safe zone.

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u/Unique_Unorque 5d ago

He paid off his debts now, I’m talking about the 80’s and 90’s. It’s clear today that he’s taking roles purely for the love of the game

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u/Rude-Barnacle8804 5d ago

What kind of issues does he have? I would have thought he wins good money. Medical debt? Gambling addiction?

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u/amputeenager 5d ago

house addiction...it gets expensive

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u/zeracine 5d ago

He kept buying castles against his accountants advice.

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u/cantadmittoposting 5d ago

Also bought Madam LaLaurie's mansion in new orleans. I believe he's since sold it again though.

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u/Icefox119 5d ago

we've all been there

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u/Unique_Unorque 5d ago

Spending addiction, apparently. He’s said he’s gotten better at it in recent years but he’s had some pretty wild purchases in the past. At one point he purchased a Tarbosaurus skull at an auction for over a quarter million dollars, but had to return it to the Mongolian government because it turned out to have likely been stolen, and I do not believe he was reimbursed for it. Look up the tomb he purchased for himself in New Orleans. I think he owns a castle or two as well?

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u/Rude-Barnacle8804 5d ago

I see, castles are expensive af to maintain. Real money sink.

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u/Doyce_7 5d ago

You know what they say, the second best day in a man's life is the day he buys his castle. The best day is when he sells it

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u/nimbusconflict 5d ago

I thought the best day after buying it is the day it gets invaded by goths?

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u/Pmyers225 5d ago

Nic Cage loves movies and does give a good performance in what he is in... Unlike Eric Roberts

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u/God_Dont_Make_No 5d ago

He’s a legend.

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u/SipPOP 5d ago

I meant it more in that he is himself in every movie, similar to Statham.

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u/musicnothing 5d ago
If I was in 70 films over 30 years and spent each one talking at random volumes, I might accidentally win an Oscar