Nicolas Cage May Have ‘Three or Four More Movies’ Left Before Exiting Film for TV: I Want to Leave ‘on a High Note’

Samantha Bergeson
·2 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Nicolas Cage’s dream is to exit film acting on a “high note,” according to the “Dream Scenario” star.

Cage, whose career has spanned almost a half-century, told Uproxx that he’s ready to say “adios” to the big screen and instead opt for working in the TV landscape, especially after binging the “magnificent” series “Breaking Bad” in 2022.

More from IndieWire

“I like staying fresh. I mean, I like to keep mixing it up. I want to do it all,” Cage said. “And I feel that I’ve, at this point – after 45 years of doing this; that in over 100 movies – I feel I’ve pretty much said what I’ve had to say with cinema. And I’d like to leave on a high note and say, ‘Adios.'”

Cage added, “I think I have to do maybe three or four more movies before I can get there, and then hopefully switch formats and go into some other way of expressing my acting. I would’ve liked to have left on a high note, like ‘Dream Scenario.’ But I have other contracts that I have to fulfill, so we’ll see what happens.”

He continued, “I mean, I am going to be very severe and very astringent on the selection process moving forward. But for me to do another movie, I do want to explore other formats. I am very interested in immersion streaming with episodic television. I have seen things that can be done now with characters and the time they’re given to express themselves. I saw Bryan Cranston stare at a suitcase for an hour on one episode of ‘Breaking Bad.’ We don’t have time to do that in a feature film, so maybe television is the next best step for me. We’ll see.”

Cage noted that he “did what I had to do with cinema and I want to move on now. But I’m not there yet, but hopefully I will be.” He said, “I’m a student and I don’t know if I have anything else to learn in cinema. I might have something to learn in television.”

The “National Treasure” star said that due to being “eclectic” with his filmography, he’s been able to explore “the margins of film performance” across “every genre.”

“And so the only thing I haven’t really done is Broadway and I haven’t done a television show,” Cage said. “I did one pilot that didn’t get picked up when I was 15, but I think I want to try something else. […] This is a new world for me. I don’t watch TV. My son, he introduced me to the format. I thought, OK, there is something here”

Best of IndieWire

Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.