Nicolas Cage Talks G-Force

Tuesday 1st December 2009 - 14:20:38

Nicolas Cage is highly regarded as one of the finest actors around at the moment, with the versatility of his various screen roles, we caught up with him to talk about his new movie, G-Force, out now.

Why did you decide to sign up for a family movie like G-Force?

I try to keep my choices eclectic and I like to explore different characters in different genres, so I was really interested in the idea of G-Force when it was pitched to me. I feel that there’s nothing more sacred than the magical world of children and I wanted to work on a movie like this because there’s a need to keep children smiling in the world.

Families are tense and people are losing their jobs because of what’s going on in the economy, but I want to make movies that give families something to look forward to. I like the idea of giving a child a smile on their face and I want to entertain them. G-Force has helped me do that.

How would you describe Speckles, your character in G-Force?

Speckles is an iconoclast. He is a mole who never really feels like he belongs. He’s a loner who tries to fit in, but he finds it very difficult because of the way he looks and the way he talks. He’s carrying a lot of angst inside because his family was exterminated off a golf course when he was a small child – and he wants retribution.

How did you come up with the voice of Speckles?

Voice actor Mel Blanc was a huge inspiration to me. This one man voiced characters including Yosemite Sam, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig – and it takes a great actor to do that. I wanted to try to channel that energy in some way and be creative, but play with it. I didn’t want to do a simple voiceover with my regular voice; I wanted to create a character vocally. I also didn’t want to play a guinea pig.

The guinea pigs are the heroes of the movie, so I felt there would be more pressure for me to use my own voice. The mole had a look about him that I knew would allow me to be a bit more bizarre.

There are a lot of spy gadgets in the movie… Are you a fan of technology?

I’m not really gadget oriented. I’m not into technology or computers. I’m not good at interfacing with that sort of gear.

But you must own a cell phone at the very least?

Oh, sure. I use technology for communication, but I don’t have a Blackberry or an iPhone. I use an outdated cell phone, but I’m fine with it.

What’s your ring tone?

I have Lou Reed singing Take A Walk On The Wild Side. I’m living in New York at the moment and it’s a quintessential New York song. I think it’s very appropriate.

When was the first time you realized you wanted to act?

I knew I wanted to be an actor when I was very young. I guess I was about six years old at the time and I was fascinated by television. I started having waking fantasies where I was in a movie and there were crane shots of me during a scene. I would literally see the point of view of the camera going down and following me along the street as I walked home. I had it all sorted out in my head at a very young age. I think I knew right away that I wanted to be an actor.

Was your uncle, Francis Ford Coppola, much of a mentor at that stage?