Nicolas Cage - My researched biography

Nicolas had a lot to live up to as his father, August Coppola, was a professor of comparative literature; his mother, Joy Vogelsang, was a well-known dancer and choreographer. Furthermore his aunt was Talia Shire, star of ‘Rocky’ (as Adrian Pennino) and ‘The Godfather’ series. His uncle, Francis Ford Coppola, was the most well-know of all his family and partly the reason for Nick’s success; he is the legendary director of ‘The Godfather’ and ‘Apocalypse Now’.

He would often spend his summers in San Francisco with his uncle and cousins (Roman and Sofia) which could have explained his growth as an actor being around such an iconic director. Although Nick hadn’t always wanted to be an actor, his mother’s natural idiosyncratic look on life and struggle as a depressive had moulded his view on life. This could explain his eccentric, yet skilfully calm, personality that is portrayed in many of his characters.

At the age of 12 his parents divorced and he lived with his dad in San Francisco who schooled him in arts, literature, music and film. The true film he says to have ‘kick started’ him into his film career was John Steinbeck’s ‘East of Eden’. It was James Dean’s rebellious role that made it connect for Nick.

Funnily enough one of Nick’s first major roles in ‘Valley Girl’ shows his performance as very similar to James’s rebel style. After this epiphany Nic followed his father’s wishes and enrolled as the Young Conservatory in San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theatre. Despite only lasting one summer he still went on to pursue his future acting career.

Nick continued on studying theatre at Beverley Hills High whilst also starring in the TV show ‘Best of Times’. Due to his connections he got hold of a small part in ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’ (1982) where he was first cast as Nicolas Coppola. Although he didn’t like the strings attached with the family name, people were always relating him to his family members; Nick felt he wanted to be somebody and have his own persona. So he decided to change his name to Nicolas Cage, he had thought of the idea from the black comic book hero Luke Cage thanks to his vast comic book collection. After his transformation Nick went on to help his uncle with further projects such as ‘Rumble Fish’ (1983) in which he helped out the actors with lines and auditions. His uncle was so impressed that he was offered the role of ‘Smokey’ in the film.