Arts Interview: Still working his voodoo

With a string of big budget action movies to his name and a reputation for living the high life, Nicolas Cage can still surprise his audiences, writes James Mottram.

Nicolas Cage: he may no longer repeat the excesses of his youth, but he still takes risks. Picture: Danny Martindale/Getty

It’s almost hard to fathom that Nicolas Cage turned 50 this year. Still undoubtedly one of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars, it seems like only yesterday that he was romancing Cher in Moonstruck, donning a snakeskin jacket in Wild At Heart and winning an Oscar for Leaving Las Vegas.

But reaching this milestone has left him in reflective mood when we meet for his latest movie, Joe, one of his best these past few ...