He received critical success for his roles in Moonstruck and Raising Arizona (both 1987), before earning an Academy Award for Best Actor for the dramatic film Leaving Las Vegas (1995).

He earned renewed critical recognition for his starring roles in Mandy (2018), Pig (2021), The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022), Dream Scenario (2023) and Longlegs (2024).

In the drama, Racing with the Moon (1984), Cage featured opposite Sean Penn as friends who are awaiting deployment to the United States Marine Corps.

[28] In Coppola's crime drama The Cotton Club he portrayed a fictionalized version of mob hitman Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll, earning praise from critic Paul Attanasio for "artfully [using] his few moments to sketch a brawny, violent thug.

"[31] In 1986, Cage starred in the little-seen Canadian sports drama The Boy in Blue and his uncle's fantasy comedy Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) as the husband to Kathleen Turner's character.

The film was a major box office flop but has developed a cult following largely due to Cage's surrealistic and over-the-top performance appearing in internet memes.

Cage was drawn to the project because he was "always attracted to those passionate, almost unbridled romantic characters" and it allowed him to impersonate one of his heroes, Elvis Presley, in scenes in which he sung.

[45] The comedy Guarding Tess (1994) paired Cage with Shirley MacLaine as a Secret Service agent protecting a former First Lady; however, it was dismissed as being derivative by some critics.

The Rock was a box office and critical success, with journalist Alexander Larman stating the film "launched Cage into an unexpected vocation as an offbeat action star.

Jerry Bruckheimer, Con Air's producer, offered the role to Cage after being impressed with his performances in Leaving Las Vegas and The Rock.

[54] Ebert felt Cage "[made] the wrong choice... by playing Cameron Poe as a slow-witted Elvis type who is very, very earnest and approaches every task with tunnel vision; it would have been more fun if he'd been less of a hayseed.

Both performances were praised by critics, with the BBC writing in their review "Travolta and Cage invest their dual roles with physical subtleties that reflect the other actor's character.

Critics were split on the film and Cage's performance, with reviews ranging from describing him as "endlessly resourceful" and "[resembling] a serial killer more than an angel.

[67] Cage made his directorial debut in 2002 with Sonny, a low-budget drama starring James Franco as a male prostitute whose mother (Brenda Blethyn) serves as his pimp.

[70] In 2005, two films he headlined, Lord of War and The Weather Man,[71] failed to find a significant audience despite nationwide releases and good reviews for his performances.

[73][74] In early December 2006, Cage announced at the Bahamas International Film Festival that he planned to curtail his future acting endeavors to pursue other interests.

[76] Also in 2007, he had a small but notable role as the Chinese criminal mastermind Dr. Fu Manchu in Rob Zombie's fake trailer Werewolf Women of the S.S. from the B-movie double feature Grindhouse[77] and starred in Next, which shared the concept of a glimpse into an alternate timeline with Cage's film,[78] The Family Man (2000).

[85] Also in 2009, Cage starred in the film Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, directed by acclaimed German director Werner Herzog.

[94][95] He also starred in Joe, an independent crime drama film directed and co-produced by David Gordon Green, adaptation from Larry Brown's 1991 novel of the same name.

"[111] In October, Mandy's producer Elijah Wood announced his intention to size up an Oscar campaign for Nicolas Cage and for composer Jóhann Jóhannsson (who died in February of that year)[112] but the film was disqualified because it was also released on Video On Demand on September 14.

[119] The documentary was directed by Garret Price and contains various interviews with some of Anton's friends and collaborators such as Kristen Stewart, J. J. Abrams, Chris Pine, Jennifer Lawrence, Jodie Foster, John Cho and Martin Landau.

"[126] Its plot revolves around a notorious criminal, Hero (played by Cage), who is sent to rescue the governor's adopted granddaughter, who has disappeared into a dark region called Ghostland.

[128] In May 2020, it was announced that Cage would be playing the role of Joe Exotic in a scripted eight-episode Tiger King series, written and executive produced by Dan Lagana.

[139] In early 2023, it was announced Cage was set to play a live action version of Peter Parker / Spider-Man Noir on Amazon Prime Video.

[147] Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is a display of how the Nouveau Shamanic method transcribes to the screen with impulse decisions fueled by an energy one could only garner naturally.

Attributing it partly to the "well-cultured" background of Cage's family, Buckmaster said the actor "is clearly attracted to grotesque characters and is celebrated for his wild and unhinged approach to them.

"[176] During his visit to University of California, Santa Cruz, he stated that he is not a politically active actor and that he can do it in his work as he learned "more about nuclear power from the movie The China Syndrome.

[202] The lawsuit stated that Levin "had failed to pay taxes when they were due and had placed [Cage] in speculative and risky real estate investments 'resulting in (the actor) suffering catastrophic losses.

[212] Kathleen Turner wrote in her 2008 memoir, Send Your Roses, that Cage had stolen a chihuahua and was arrested twice for driving drunk while they filmed Peggy Sue Got Married.

[218] Cage was arrested in New Orleans' French Quarter district on April 15, 2011, for suspicion of domestic abuse battery, disturbing the peace and public intoxication.