Nicolas Cage, famous for his unique combination of great and terrible acting, once mentioned during an interview that he bought two king cobra snakes. The pair had a female snake called Sheba and an albino male called Moby. The actor kept the snakes inside a bulletproof glass in his house alongside an anti-venom syringe.
During an interview, Cage claimed that his former pet cobras not only tried killing him but also affected his acting. The actor said the cobras were far from content, as they would try to hypnotize him, showing their backs and then suddenly try to bite him.
Nicolas Cage Had To Let His Pet Cobras
Nicolas Cage, during an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, spoke about how deadly a scenario it would’ve been if one of the cobras bit him.
Cage told David Letterman:
“if they do [bite me], I’ve got 15 minutes to live. So I have to get an antidote, which is next to the cage and I just plunge it into my knee and I’ll be alright.”
After talking about the snakes on the show, the actor revealed that he had to send the snakes back to a zoo as the local community wasn’t so supportive of his ownership of the snakes. He added, “The neighbourhood wasn’t too pleased that I had cobras.”
Nicolas Cage also claimed that the snakes also managed to influence his acting. Their hypnotic movements, side to side, seem to have some influence on his portrayal of Ghost Rider in Spirit of Vengeance. In the film, Nicolas Cage’s character showcases a similar behavior before attacking the enemy.
Cage added:
“They would try to hypnotise you by going side to side, and when I did Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, that’s something my character does before he attacks.”
During the same interview, Cage also revealed about his pet cat’s habit of trying to eat the magic mushrooms he stored in his fridge.
Nicolas Cage Was Terrified To Return To Making Disney Movies
During an interview with Variety, Cage pointed out the similarities between his personal experiences and the journey of his character in the film Pig, especially about their challenges with past fame. Despite having solidified his position as an A-lister in Hollywood, he opted to work on independent projects with a comparatively low budget.
Cage told Variety:
“I do feel that I’ve gone into my own wilderness and that I’ve left the small town that is Hollywood. I don’t know exactly why Rob left his stardom. It’s never fully explained, and I like that about the movie. But as for me, I don’t know if I’d want to go back. I don’t know if I’d want to go and make another Disney movie. It would be terrifying. It’s a whole different climate. There’s a lot of fear there.”
Since big-budget projects do not allow for creative freedom, which he was able to explore in low-budget films, it led him to think about his potential return to joining such projects.
