Related
Nicolas Cage is undeniably one of the most distinguishable acting voices of this contemporaries , with his over - the - top style often making his role support out among the gang . But there are plenty of roles that Cage narrowly overlook out on , which are now impossible to imagine anybody else playing - andRankerhas put together a helpful leaning of all these iconic part .
Plenty of these almost - use are due to scheduling conflicts or prior commitments , which shows just how strongly certain directors and film writer valued Cage ’s presence and want it in their movies . He ’s a one - of - a - kind histrion , and each of these reference would have been completely different if he ’d ended up with the role .
Joel Barish (Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind)
The fictional character of Joel Barish in Michel Gondry’sEternal Sunshineis now widely view as one of Jim Carrey ’s most impressive performance to day of the month . The character was unlike anything Carrey had played before , and gave him a great chance to bear witness that he ’s just as in effect of a striking actor as a comedic one .
This blurred bound between comedy and drama is a quality that ’s also deal by Nic Cage , so it makes sentience that he was also considered for the use . However , Charlie Kaufman ’s words had also recently been land to animation byCage in one of his best movies , Adaptation .
John Constantine (Constantine)
The story surroundingConstantine’scasting is really a very complex and unfortunate one - although Cage was jolly much agreed to play the role by director Tarsem Singh , Warner Brothers clashed with this decision and the two even ended up suing each other over the struggle .
The role finally went to Keanu Reeves , who emphatically had the veracious levels of charisma and charm to attract off this complex function . Singh was also replaced by director Francis Lawrence , so the ruined undertaking was much different than the original vision .
John Bender (The Breakfast Club)
It ’s hard to imagine anybody other than Judd Nelson playing the role of Bender in John Hughes’The Breakfast Club , but Cage ’s operation inFast Times At Ridgemont Highhad also put him in gamy need for the job . He seemed like a trusted fit , and Hughes himself was also convert that he ’d make a great choice .
Cage was finally reject for the use , and many speculate that it ’s because Cage was too recognizable and expensive for Hughes ' passably small budget . Nelson was a perfect tantrum for the role , and his character has become one of the most iconic and memorable of all time .
Harry Dunne (Dumb And Dumber)
At the metre beforeDumb and Dumber ’s release , Jim Carrey and Nic Cage had already verbalize stake in working together multiple times , so Carrey push for his friend to link him on this undertaking . He was finally pressure to reject , starring inLeaving Las Vegasinstead- where he embodied one ofCage ’s best characters to day of the month , even get ahead an Oscar for his performance .
The role apparently went to Jeff Daniels in the destruction , who made a stark comedic partner to Jim Carrey despite the player ’s wishes to work with Cage . The pair develop a strong bond and screaming on - screen chemistry that made both films incessantly entertaining and sport to watch .
Randy “The Ram” Robinson (The Wrestler)
Although the purpose eventually fit to Mickey Rourke , it was originally Nic Cage that was signalize on to make for Randy Robinson in Darren Aronofsky ’s acclaimed drama . He was forced to back out of the project , however , when he realise that he could not touch the high demands of the caper .
Rourke was clearly the veracious choice in the oddment , as he won a Golden Globe and was even Oscar - constitute for his performance . It ’s widely regarded as the grounds for his career comeback in the recent 2000s , and see by many as one of the best performance of that tenner .
Chev Chelios (Crank)
The creative judgment behindCrank , Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor , once revealed that the character of Chev Chelios was originally compose with Cage in creative thinker , though it ’s not clear whether or not he was ever in negotiation to star . The part eventually fit to Jason Statham , who completely made the most of the eccentric role .
It ’s not too hard to imagine John Milton Cage Jr. in the role , however , since it ’s not that dissimilar from some of the graphic symbol that he ’s played in the past tense . But whether or not he would have present the same brute military group and raw attitude as Statham is still a mystery .
Scarecrow (Batman: Triumphant)
Although the temporarily titledBatman : Triumphantwas never really made due to the late films ' poor vital response , Joel Schumacher ’s suppositious sequel was supposed to asterisk Nic Cage as one of the main adversary , Scarecrow .
Schumacher ’s previous filmBatman & Robinis wide regardedas one of those childhood pic that are almost universally hated now , so it ’s no surprise that Warner Bros was unwilling to put this third film into action . Cage thus missed out on the role , which finally went to Cillian Murphy in Christopher Nolan’sBatman Begins .
Neo (The Matrix)
AlthoughThe Matrixwould eventually become one of the most successful and iconic action franchise of all clip , Nic Cage was allegedly unwilling to fly to Australia in parliamentary procedure to shoot the role . As such , it was eventually propose to Keanu Reeves , who stayed on for all four films .
The Matrixhas become such a cornerstone of pop acculturation that it ’s impossible to conceive of anybody else in the main theatrical role , partiuclarly Reeves as Neo . However , if there ’s anybody that has the same sort of quiet magical spell and quiet force as Keanu Reeves , it ’s plausibly Nic Cage .
Aragorn (Lord of the Rings)
Viggo Mortensen ’s portrayal of Aragorn was undeniably one of the highlight of Peter Jackson’sLord of the Ringstrilogy , but the search for the right actor was much more complicated than you ’d ask . Cage was initially offered the office , but was pressure to reject because it was too much of a sentence committedness .
The role then went to Stuart Townsend , who was flown out to New Zealand and even pass two months preparing for the films before he was go off and supercede by Mortensen . Townsend was allegedly unwilling to undergo the education necessary to play Aragorn , and it was Mortensen ’s consignment that made him such a meet choice .
Superman (Superman Lives)
Once again , Superman Livesis a film that never actually see the ignitor of day , but it was intended to be Tim Burton ’s directorial adjustment of the iconic type with Nic Cage in dialogue to star . Although not an wholly ceremonious choice for the character , it seems like Cage was pretty much assure the part before Burton endorse off the project .
The role eventually move to Brandon Routh in 2006’sSuperman return , though he only stuck around for one picture . Since then , Superman has been played by Henry Cavill , whom Zack Snyder introduced to the DCEUin his iconicMan of Steel .
NEXT:10 Best Nicolas Cage Movies , consort To Ranker
