Nicolas Cage in Terrible Movie

Nicolas Cage

It’s easy to mock his overbite and poor movie choices, but Nicolas Cage has always been a good actor, Con Air notwithstanding. In 1995, he became the fifth youngest leading man ever to win an Academy Award for his role in tragic alcoholism drama Leaving Las Vegas, and his performances in movies like Raising Arizona resulted in film critic Roger Ebert citing him alongside great actors like Pacino and De Niro. The star currently earns around $40 million a year and is one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood, but unfortunately he has largely reached that position by seeking out the most lucrative roles available, regardless of the quality of the films. It’s not surprising, then, that Cage has spent most of his recent career appearing in high-paying movies of dubious quality (Windtalkers and The Wicker Man, anyone?). Interestingly, his $20 million pay check for National Treasure was, according to some sources, approximately 80 times more than the amount he was paid for his performance in Leaving Las Vegas…