To celebrate an unforgettable career, here are the 10 essential Nicolas Cage movies

There is an infinite list of lovable traits regarding Nicolas Cage. Easily likable, versatile, unpredictable and overflowing charisma. Even when Cage plays the most despicable people on the planet, you can’t take your eyes off him. And, of course, there’s the famous Cage rage that we all know and adore. No actor has ever been quite as overly expressive as Cage.

With the release of the Oscar-winning actor’s latest film, “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” which promises to be a celebration of his career as well as everything we love about the man, it feels right to celebrate some of Cage’s most essential movies and roles. Here are 10:

‘Valley Girl’ (1983)

Cage’s breakout role set the tone for his entire career – rebellious, manic, intense and impossible to look away from on the screen. The film itself is basically if “Romeo & Juliet” was set in the 1980s San Fernando Valley with Cage playing Randy, a rebellious punk who would give James Dean a run for his money and falls madly in love with a rich girl (Deborah Foreman). Cage steals every scene.

‘Raising Arizona’ (1987)

The year 1987 was Cage’s breakout year, with two unforgettable performances in two classics. While not his first leading role, “Raising Arizona” was the first time Cage was allowed to show his full range as an actor, made even better thanks to superb directing from the Coen brothers, who were also at the beginning of impressive careers.

‘Moonstruck’ (1987)

While “Raising Arizona” showcased Cage’s depth, “Moonstruck” showed that he can and should be taken seriously as an actor. While he only has a supporting role in the movie, he still manages to be just as memorable in his quieter moments. His character, a baker with a prosthetic hand and lots of anger issues, has electrifying chemistry with Cher and makes her Academy Award-winning performance even better.

‘Vampire’s Kiss’ (1989)

After back-to-back hits, Cage could do no wrong as an actor. Case in point, “Vampire’s Kiss” is Cage at his hammiest, and it is probably his most quotable performance. I’ll forever have him screaming the alphabet at his secretary stuck in my head, as well as him running down the street shrieking “I’m a vampire!” at the top of his lungs.

‘Leaving Las Vegas’ (1995)

It feels like so many people forget that Cage has won the Academy Award for best actor. Cage plays a once-famous writer who has lost everything, including his job and wife, and decides to move to Las Vegas and drink himself to death. It is equally heartbreaking and mesmerizing, and I can’t imagine any other actor pulling off this role so effectively.

‘The Rock’ (1996)

After “Leaving Las Vegas,” Cage reached the highest point of his career with several successes in a row, and arguably his most iconic roles. “The Rock” showed that he could be an action star on top of his already impressive depth. This also happens to be the best Michael Bay movie, and this is due to the charisma of Cage and Sean Connery, as well as their witty chemistry.

‘Face/Off’ (1997)

I debated about whether “Con Air” or “Face/Off” should be in this slot, but I went with “Face/Off” because it is Cage at his absolute wackiest. He goes full Looney Tune in this movie, and it is glorious. And yet that range he’s shown in movies like “Raising Arizona” is still fully used, giving this movie even more depth and emotion.

‘Adaptation’ (2002)

Once the 2000s came around, Cage took on more “subdued” roles, including playing Charlie Kauffman as he tries to write the film that we’re currently watching. To me, this is Cage’s best performance in a perfect movie. It is not the typical Cage performance, but it showed that he could speak even louder than he did in “Vampire’s Kiss” without raising his voice.

‘Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans’ (2009)

The late 2000s and early 2010s offered a variety of roles for Cage, including franchises like “National Treasure.” But the most outlandish film he did was a police procedural directed by Werner Herzog. Cage plays a cop who’s always high on drugs, power or both, and the unique visual style combined with Cage’s manic performance creates an unsettling yet unforgettable experience.

‘Pig’ (2021)

In the last half decade, Cage has found a new home in the independent film market. Films like “Mandy,” “Color Out of Space” and “Primal” all gave Cage a chance to do stories he could never make in Hollywood. The best of these films was last year’s “Pig,” about a former chef going on the hunt for his stolen truffle-hunting pig. This is Cage’s most subdued performance, keeping all of that Cage rage bottled up and turned into a ticking time bomb.