A conversation between two brilliant weirdos? Yes, please. Actor Nicolas Cage and director John Carpenter chat over Zoom about the magic of acting, James Dean’s “perfect” career, and vibing with a horror-movie superstar:
John: Anthony Perkins was a really kind, kind man, and he had a lot of talent. Did you ever meet him?
Nicolas: I never met him. But I’d love to hear about him.
John: Back in the day, Burt Reynolds, when he was riding high, used to throw these parties. I went to one, and it was pretty incredible. They had a game of charades, and Anthony Perkins and I teamed up, and we were perfect. We beat everybody, hands down. Because we had the same brain. I could come up with one gesture, and he had what it was.
Nicolas: Well, you know what that means, then, John? That means that you’re also an actor.
John: [Laughs] No, no, no.
Nicolas: Well, yeah. To communicate through a gesture and get it… Let’s say you have a child, and you want to know if they can act—give them a toy phone, and see what they sound like when they’re pretending they’re on the phone with somebody.
Get the Longreads Weekly Email