Nicolas Cage is to host a six-part series for Netflix investigating the history of swearwords. Each episode with focus on a particular expletive: “fuck”, “shit”, “bitch”, “dick”, “pussy” and “damn”.
The 20-minute shows are co-produced by Funny or Die and will feature celebrity guests, including Nick Offerman and Sarah Silverman, as well as linguists, cognitive scientists and lexicographers.
Despite a reputation for advanced yelling, Cage is not one of the most sweary actors in Hollywood, failing to break into the top 10 in a study released earlier this year.
It was Cage’s idea for his character in 1996 smash The Rock not to swear, instead preferring phrases such as “gee whiz”.
His Netflix show will begin on 5 January; he also has two projects in the works for rival Amazon: a biopic of Joe Exotic, star of Tiger King, and Hellfire, a dragon-centric animation based on the novel by Eion Colfer.
Countdown’s Susie Dent also fronted a six-part history of profanity in 2017; the projects are unrelated.
