In an era when too many celebrity profiles either take place entirely over Zoom or vastly misapprehend what makes someone objectively interesting, Gabriella Paiella’s April cover story for GQ manages what seems the impossible: avoiding the pitfalls, commiting without caping, and leaving you with a very real sense of a man you thought you knew everything about.
Redemption does seem to have arrived for Cage, at long last. After falling millions of dollars into debt, and then working tirelessly to dig himself out, he has made many movies—too many movies—that only reinforced the idea that Cage was maybe a little insane. And yet, through the 12 years that followed the death of his beloved father, the turmoil of near-bankruptcy, and the big studios turning their backs on him, Cage has stayed committed to delivering flashes of his highly personal brilliance in smaller projects. Like in 2018’s Mandy, as a bereaved lumberjack in the woods who’s lost everything he loves. Or last year’s Pig, as a bereaved chef in the woods who’s lost everything he loves. And in doing so, he’s reminded people what they’ve always known: Nicolas Cage is one of our greatest actors.
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