Massive Talent: Day-Lewis & Bale Were Considered For Nicolas Cage Role

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent screenwriter Kevin Etten has revealed that the filmmakers behind the movie considered Daniel Day-Lewis or Christian Bale for the role of Nicolas Cage if Cage opted not to play himself. The film follows a fictionalized version of the Face/Off actor hired to visit the home of a rich fan (Pedro Pascal). Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent hit theaters this weekend and is currently earning strong reviews from critics.

Massive Talent is a profound and meta exploration of Cage’s legacy in Hollywood. The film sees the actor portray a version of himself who has fallen on hard times and struggling to find lead roles. Eventually, he is lured to the island of a rich Cage super fan named Javi (Pedro Pascal) with the promise of $1 million for attending a birthday. From there, Cage finds himself recruited by the CIA to conduct surveillance on the man who hired him.

Now that The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent has debuted in theaters, new information on the development of the project has emerged. In a recent interview with THR, screenwriter Kevin Etten confirmed that there were original takes on the project that would have had either Day-Lewis or Bale stepping in to actually play Cage. Etten said:

There were times when I think I, more than Tom, was trying to talk myself into other ideas. The only actually good idea — I don’t know whose it was — was to have either Christian Bale or Daniel Day-Lewis playing Nick Cage. But really, no.

Ultimately it seems that the filmmakers got to make the version of Massive Talent that they wanted to make. However, they had to have backup plans available just in case they could not get Cage. They likely could not cast a different actor to play themselves, as the film very much seems built around Cage being the main character of the movie, bringing him back to the comedy genre after a long absence. As a result, the options they kept in their back pocket were to cast Hollywood heavy-hitters such as Bale or Day-Lewis to actually play Cage.

There is an argument to be made that Bale and Day-Lewis could’ve both played the part of Cage well in an alternate version of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. That said, the film would have missed out on ample opportunity to have meta fun with Cage’s legacy and his inner monologue by having Cage play multiple versions of himself in the movie. Moreover, having Cage play himself allowed the actor to get in on the fun. If another actor had taken on the role, an impersonation of Cage may have veered into a mean-spirited territory, instead of letting Cage embrace his legacy through the narrative of the film.

Next: Every Nic Cage Movie Releasing After Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent

Source: THR

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