Hollywood star Nicolas Cage said he drew inspiration for his latest movie role from an infamous TV interview he gave to Irish broadcasting legend Terry Wogan.
The late Limerick presenter welcomed a relatively unknown Cage onto his BBC prime-time programme chatshow in 1990 for what turned out to be arguably the most memorable few minutes of the long-running chatshow’s history.
The American actor, known for his hard living and eccentric behaviour, had agreed to appear on the popular show to promote the new David Lynch-directed picture, ‘Wild At Heart’, in which he had the lead role opposite Laura Dern.
But in what turned out to be one of the most bizarre episodes of BBC broadcasting history, the unpredictable actor - known for his hard-living ways at the time, and often erratic behaviour - signalled his arrival on the live show with a somersault, after which he started throwing money into the audience, before following up with a couple of karate kicks.
The frenzied star then stripped off his T-shirt, passing the item of clothing over to the unflappable TV host for what Esquire magazine described as “an iconic, all-time great appearance on Terry Wogan’s chat show”.
Although 30 years have now passed since the notorious interview, Cage has been busy analysing the old video footage for an upcoming movie, in which he plays himself.
The comedy ‘The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent’ will see the four-times married 56-year-old portray two fictionalised versions of himself - a present day Cage, and a younger, far more deranged one.
In an interview with Esquire, the veteran actor - whose film credits include Leaving Las Vegas, Raising Arizona and Face/Off - said: “Remember that talk show I went on, ‘Wogan’, when I was promoting ‘Wild At Heart’?
“Young Nic Cage [in the film] will be that guy. But this is a very stylised version of me. It’s definitely just me ‘taking the piss’, as they say out of myself.”
Known for his intense, but eccentric personality and reputation for excess, Cage is believed to have splashed out around €90 million on extravagances, including luxury yachts, European castles, a pair of albino King Cobras and a 67-million-year-old dinosaur skull.
Known as a method actor, the actor has a reputation for making the extra effort to get into his roles.
He is said to have had two of his teeth pulled out for his part in 1984 flick, Birdy, and swallowed a live cockroach for 1992 movie Vampire’s Kiss.
