Nicolas Cage (born January 7, 1964) is an American actor.
Born Nicholas Kim Coppola in Long Beach, California of Italian and German descent, he is the son of August and Joy Coppola, and grandson of composer Carmine Coppola. In 1976, Cage's parents divorced and he moved to Beverly Hills with his father. He is the nephew of both Francis Ford Coppola and Talia Shire.
Cage changed his name early in order to try to make his own way in acting without benefiting from his uncle's reputation. He chose the name Cage after the Marvel comic book hero Luke Cage, Power Man.
He had a small role in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), most of which ended on the cutting room floor. His next notable roles were in the 1983 movies Rumble Fish and Valley Girl, which was his breakout role.
He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Leaving Las Vegas (1995). He has developed a reputation for alternating roles in action movies with more serious character-driven dramas, as well as the occasional black comedy.
He has a son, Weston Coppola Cage (born 1990), by model Kristina Fulton. On April 8, 1995 he married actress Patricia Arquette. They divorced on May 18, 2001. On August 10, 2002 he married Lisa Marie Presley and filed for divorce less than four months later. They divorced on May 16, 2004. He married former waitress Alice Kim on July 30, 2004, in a private ceremony in northern California. He has another son, Kal-el Coppola Cage (born October 3, 2005 in New York City), by the latter. The name Kal-el is derived from the birth name of comic book hero Superman on his home planet of Krypton.
Cage is an immense Elvis fan.
He also is a big fan of comic books, with his favorite character being Marvel Comics' Ghost Rider, a carnival motorcyclist bent on revenge. He recently (July 2005) landed the role of Johnny Blaze, Ghost Rider's alter ego. The movie Ghost Rider is slated for 2006.
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