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NEWS : STORIES
Nicolas Cage is known for going to the edge in his performances - munching on a live cockroach in Vampire's Kiss is just one highlight in his resume. Two years ago he was putting on weight and playing against himself as the screenwriting
There's no roach-eating required to play Benjamin Franklin Gates, Cage's character in National Treasure. The film is the actor's latest collaboration with Jerry Bruckheimer, the producer who made the Oscar-winning Cage an action star with The Rock and Con-Air. This time he has to steal the Declaration of Independence to keep it out of villainous hands - and decode a treasure map that's been found on the famed document's reverse side. Gates is like a 21st century Indiana Jones without the whip. With Justin Bartha as his wisecracking sidekick and Diane Kruger as an archivist along for the rollercoaster ride, what's needed is a heroic attitude and light touch. Cage has both down, zealously crunching Masonic lore and American Revolutionary history as easily as he races over roofs and escapes exploding ships in his search for the Knights Templar's mythic trove. The 40-year-old actor told VH1 he still likes a bit of risk on his downtime, as we talked about trying on Cary Grant's shoes, dancing partners, and being in the midst of a shark tale gone wrong. [WATCH THE TRAILER FOR NATIONAL TREASURE] VH1: How is Benjamin Gates different than the other characters you've played for Jerry Bruckheimer? Nicolas Cage: Benjamin Gates has been groomed his whole life to find the Templars' treasure. He's done the bookwork and is historically smart. The character in Gone In Sixty Seconds had led a life of crime and tried to take the straight and narrow path, whereas Ben Gates needs to do something highly treasonous in order to do something right. He's doing a criminal act but it's not a lifetime occupation. VH1: How do you make this character interesting for you to play? Cage: We were trying to find the tone of the movie. I have to credit [director] Jon Turteltaub for a lot of that, because he kept encouraging it to be more playful in keeping with Cary Grant pictures like To Catch a Thief. The challenge in rehearsals was uncovering the playfulness. That is something that just happens on the set, by having the opportunity to work with Diane Kruger and Justin Bartha. Both actors have very off-the-wall senses of humor, like mine. So there is an instantaneous chemistry that happens between the three of us that lent itself to Jon and Jerry's vision of the movie. VH1: Was there a certain extent of improvisation? Cage: There always is. Jerry Bruckheimer's movies always have a momentum to them like the train has left the station and it's picking up speed. As actors, you have to fit into that formula and be as succinct as possible. On the day you might come up with an idea and just to play with it feels fresh and spontaneous. But you still have to be succinct. VH1: Did you base your character on any other real life treasure hunters? Cage: I read a little about that, and it really didn't seem to fit in. The main thing that I had to do was to find a way to make these impossible riddles and clues sound like they meant something. When Ben Gates is rattling off the clues, a lot of it is like gobbledygook. So it was like, how do I make it believable to myself and to the audience? See Photos From National Treasure VH1: How do you produce that illusion of competence? Cage: It was just a matter of constantly going over the lines and trying to comprehend their meaning until I felt that I could say them, even though it was gibberish in my mind. VH1: You've worked with Jerry Bruckheimer four times. What did you like about him as a creative partner? Cage: He has a vision - and it's an honest vision - that happens to appeal to a lot of people. He's a real movie-going fan, and he has a formula that works for making people happy. But at the same time he likes to step outside the box and find unpredictable writers and actors. [See an EXCLUSIVE clip from the movie.] VH1: Does he allow you the freedom to do something that you can be pleased with as well as just pleasing him? Cage: One of the things I find interesting is that he's encouraging me to come up with ideas for the character. He wants me to present something that isn't the normal choice. Then I'll go through it and come up with 400 different ideas, he'll "yes" and "no" them, until we find something that works for both of us. VH1: Jon Turteltaub said Diane Kruger intimidated you a little bit during her audition ... Cage: I don't think that's right. Intimidation implies some sort of fear or weakness. I would say it was more of a playfulness that was challenging. It was like an invitation to dance. VH1: What kind of dancing partner is she? Cage: We did this scene where we were in her office, and I was saying that there's an invisible map on the back of the Declaration of Independence and it's about to be stolen. The expression in her eyes was one where she wasn't going to take any BS from anybody, but was mischievously charming as well. I think that's a good way of describing Diane. VH1: So when was the last time you stole something for real? Cage: I can't recall. No towels from hotels or anything like that. I have no record. I'm boring. VH1: Not that boring. You keep a pair of king cobra snakes as pets. How are they coming along? Cage: They're OK, thanks. They've actually been relocated to a place outside the house. VH1: Do you have a lot of pets? Cage: Yeah. I love animals, I always have. I have always been passionate about nature in all its forms. I just got back from Africa, where I went on a few safaris. I saw the great white shark; I saw lions, elephants, rhinos ... VH1: A great white? Did they lower you in the cage? Cage: Yeah. That was the first time [I'd done it]. I was a little intimidated. VH1: What's it like being three feet away from a great white? Cage: Well, they all have different personalities. Some actually seem kind of passive and gentle. But they all have a regal side to them, like they know who they are. My stunt man likes to take things about one or two steps further than everyone else. He stuck his hand outside the cage and started petting the shark behind its gills as the shark was chomping a tuna in half. The shark kind of went nuts and looked at him like, "How dare you touch me! Don't you have any idea who I am?" Then he started smashing into the cage. VH1: Hard to shoot a look like that when you've got no eyelids. Cage: It was more in the behavior - not necessarily the eyelids or the eyes. He turned around and started ramming into the cage. VH1: Your life must have passed before your eyes! Cage: It was pretty intense - the stuff that nightmares are made of. Cage, Bruckheimer, and Diane Kruger explain how they gave their Declaration of Independence mystery the Cary Grant touch. National Treasure opens on Nov. 19.
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