Hollywood’s Most Unpredictable Actor Turns a Year Older

Staff Report: PNN

Nicolas Cage’s career has been a mix of success, failure, controversy, and surprise. Over three decades, he has won Oscars and experienced box office highs and lows.

Cage debuted in 1983 with Valley Girl, earning $5,000. Within a decade, his salary reached several hundred thousand dollars. After The Rock, his popularity and pay rose rapidly, eventually earning $1–2 million per film.

Despite enormous earnings, Cage’s lavish spending on houses, cars, and eccentric hobbies led to financial strain. Notable purchases included a supposedly haunted house in New Orleans and a dinosaur skull auctioned for $276,000, which he later returned after learning it was illegally smuggled from Mongolia.

Cage has been married five times, including to Patricia Arquette, Lisa Marie Presley, Alice Kim, and most recently to Japanese partner Riko Shibata in 2021. Despite personal controversies, Cage remains recognized as one of Hollywood’s most fearless and unpredictable actors.