Nicolas Cage Sacrificed $63M Lead Role That Launched Tom Cruise, Earned Him Golden Globe Nomination

Nicolas Cage, known for starring in iconic and notable roles has several accolades and awards to his name. Starring in movies like National Treasure and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, the actor has accumulated quite a fan following.

As per some trivia, it was actually Nicolas Cage, who rejected the lead role in a movie that essentially made Tom Cruise’s career. After rejecting the role, Tom Cruise was selected for the movie which made his career by starring in the 1983 movie titled Risky Business

Nicolas Cage Essentially Made Tom Cruise’s Career

Back in the early 1980s, Tom Cruise was unknown to Hollywood as the actor did not have many notable roles to his name. Nicolas Cage found fame during the same time when he found attention for starring in a romantic role in Valley Girl.

Also read: Nicolas Cage’s Canceled Superman With Sandra Bullock Nearly Put Zack Snyder’s $668M Man Of Steel to Shame With Its Brutally Dark Theme

There could have been a universe where Tom Cruise would never have become the great actor that he is today. As per trivia, Nicolas Cage rejected the 1983 movie titled Risky Business. With Cage out of the equation, Tom Cruise was quickly hired for the R-rated movie which made him famous for his breakthrough role in the movie.

Soon after, Cruise took the lead role in the 1986 action movie Top Gun and was instantly shot into fame and fortune as people quickly started recognizing the actor wherever he went. Although it was great for the actor, it just might have been impossible if Nicolas Cage had not refused to star in Risky Business and had instead taken up the role!

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Nicolas Cage To Enter His Persona Into Games?

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With several series and films to his name, Nicolas Cage seems to want to try something new with his image. It was recently revealed that the actor made an appearance as himself in the multiplayer game Dead by Daylight but he doesn’t intend to stop there.

The actor was recently spotted with video game legendary director Hideo Kojima in their studio in Japan. Kojima took to his Twitter account to post his photo alongside Nic Cage. Fans are now pretty convinced that The Pig actor is all set to be given the lead role in Kojima’s upcoming magnum opus Death Stranding 2. Although it hasn’t been confirmed, Death Stranding featured Norman Reedus in the lead role and hence, it isn’t new for the franchise to cast actors in their games.

Although Death Stranding 2 hasn’t been confirmed yet, Nicolas Cage is set to star in 7 upcoming projects with different release dates.

As for the 1983 Tom Cruise starrer, Risky Business is available to rent on Apple TV+.

Source: IMDB