Leaving Las Vegas

Nicolas Cage, born Nicolas Kim Coppola, achieved success by his own means without using his famous family name, Coppola. Cage’s film career began in the early 80s and earned a reputation for being quirky, funny, and unconventional — but it wasn’t until the mid-90s that the young actor really hit his stride, earning an Academy Award in the process. Cage has remained daring in his exploration of the complete emotional gamut of human personality. He's never hesitant to be completely free and exposed in a role, knowing full-well that one of his performances may draw mockery. Throughout his career, Cage has played a broad range of characters and occasionally takes unconventional approaches to them, but it all serves to produce a very human performance. It's that unpredictability and fearlessness that makes Nicolas Cage one of the most electrifying actors of his generation.