Entertainment Movies Historical Movies Nicolas Cage Says He'll Never See His Upcoming Movie Where He Plays Himself: Too 'Whacked-Out' Nicolas Cage plays a "highly-neurotic, anxiety-ridden" version of himself in his upcoming movie The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent By Ale Russian Ale Russian Ale Russian is a contributing writer at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2023. Her work has appeared in Women's World, First For Women, Biography.com and the Chicago Sun-Times. People Editorial Guidelines Published on September 16, 2021 02:30PM EDT Nicolas Cage. Photo: JC Olivera/Getty Nicolas Cage won't be catching his latest movie on the big screen. The actor plays a creatively unfulfilled version of himself in the upcoming The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, and a new interview delves into how the star went about getting into character. "That is a really great question and I'm still trying to answer it," he told Collider of how he approached the role. "One of my answers is that I'm never going to see that movie. I'm told it's a good movie. My manager, Mike Nilon, who is also a producer on it, looked at it. He was very happy. I'm told the audience loved the movie. But it's just too much of a whacked-out trip for me to go to a movie theater and watch me play [director] Tom Gormican's highly-neurotic, anxiety-ridden version of me." Nicolas Cage to Play 'Creatively Unfulfilled' Version of Himself in New Movie Cage, 57, said the director "kept pushing me in that direction," but the Oscar winner wants it to be clear the version of him portrayed onscreen is not who he really is. "I said 'Tom, that's not really me. I'm really [made of] quiet, meditative, thoughtful moments. I'm not this neurotic, high-strung, anxiety-ridden guy all the time.' But he said, 'Well, neurotic Cage is the best Cage,' " the actor recalled. "I said, 'Okay, okay. Let's go, man. I'll do what you want.' I won't see it. But I do hope you enjoy it." In the movie, Cage reluctantly accepts a $1 million offer to perform at the party of one of his super fans, who also happens to be a Mexican billionaire, according to previous reports. When the party gets out of control, Cage must rely on some of his iconic characters to save himself. While the actor has starred in several blockbuster hits, Cage has gravitated to more eclectic parts in independent films in recent years. "I see myself very much as a student of film performance and I'm always looking to learn something," Cage previously told PEOPLE. "That's why if you look at my filmography, it's so eclectic. I'm always trying to challenge myself and take those risks and go for the triple axel, even though I might fall on my face. It's still exciting to go for it and you still get points for trying." Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Cage is slated to produce the film alongside Kevin Turen and Mike Nilon through their production company Saturn Films. He plays a hunter facing off against a political assassin in the upcoming movie Primal and will next appear in southern thriller Grand Isle. Close