Nicolas Cage And Nicholas Hoult Let Fans Ask Them Anything, And It Was A Bloody Good Time

Asked by Redditor u/GatoradeNipples:

Cage: What's your favorite lesser-known performance out of your filmography?

Answered by Nicolas Cage:

Umm, there was a little cameo that I did that lasted all of about uh, one minute, in a movie called Never on Tuesday. I don’t recommend the entire film. But um, it was a performance I did.

I didn’t get paid, but the agreement was with the director and whoever was financing the picture that if I do it, they would let me do whatever I wanted. So it was a complete avant-garde experiment, and of course, I played a character who had a prosthetic nose which was very long and pointed. And I had this whole concept of this guy who had a very long nose and was having trouble meeting girls, so his father bought him a Ferrari Testarossa to help him with that.

So I showed up on set with a prosthetic nose and a very high voice driving a Ferrari Testarossa, and of course, it was very frustrating for all the other actors. They like it now, apparently, but at the time it was like, you can’t really fire me because that was the agreement. You said I could do whatever I wanted, and he did, and so that’s my favorite lesser-known performance.

Asked by Nicholas Holt:

But wait: Did you bring the Ferrari yourself?

Answered by Nicola Cage:

No, it was somebody's Ferrari, and they took it away from me because I was driving it too fast.

Asked by Nicholas Holt:

What were you inspired by?

Answered by Nicola Cage:

Just sort of like a troubled, live-action version of Pinocchio.

Asked by Redditor u/GatoradeNipples:

Hoult: Was Renfield an easier or harder shoot than Fury Road?

Answered by Nicholas Hoult:

Oooh umm, easier or harder to shoot than Fury Road? I mean, location-wise easier. New Orleans was wonderful. The art and food and people and everything. It was less isolating than the desert in Namibia. Ummm but the shoot was more contained in terms of the time.

So what we were trying to achieve in terms of the scenes but then also the stunt work, we had to move really quickly, so that made it very difficult, and it’s also a vampire movie, so a lot of it is nights. Umm which, I’m not a night owl, so I would struggle with that.

Asked by Redditor u/Steppenwolf8989:

Hey Nicolas and Nicholas! How does it feel to be reunited with your The Weather Man costar? How did the filming process of Renfield compare to The Weather Man?

Thanks for all the great films you have both made! Looking forward to your future projects.

Answered by Nicolas Cage:

Well, I was very happy to get back on set with Nick. In The Weather Man, I was starring in the movie and Nick was playing my son and supporting me, so that was a different dynamic. In Renfield, Nick is starring in the movie and I’m supporting him, so they’re two very different kinds of approaches to film performance. 

Supporting actors, in my view, have to support their lead and get in step with where they’re going, setting the pace and the flavors they’re bringing, so it all coalesces. I was completely in awe, actually, of Nick Hoult at 14, because he had so much poise and he was so confident, and I had no doubt that he would subsequently become the star he has become. So, yeah, I was very happy to work with him again.

Answered by Nicholas Hoult:

I think, for me at 14, I was overwhelmed with everything that was happening. Intimidated by it, but also made to feel very calm and safe with Nick. 

Side note: I also got to eat my first ever corndog in his presence. It was in a scene, which was obviously a big moment that stuck with me. But then, yeah, to get to work with him again, as an adult, I get to appreciate much more of his work.

[To Cage] At 14, I hadn’t seen a majority of your filmography. Now, going back as an adult, I’ve had time to delve into your work and I’ve been inspired by so much of it. Seeing what you bring to each scene and moment is really special. I get to see one of the most iconic actors playing one of the most iconic roles ever. It’s magic.

Answered by Nicolas Cage:

Well, thank you. Also, The Weather Man was his first movie. It was also the first time he had the marvelous culinary American experience of the corndog.

We had talked about it before, but when he had it, Nick Hoult just said, “Go USA!”

Asked by Redditor u/Here-4-the-pineapple:

Are there any historical portrayals of Dracula or Renfield that you love, or portrayals you studied as reference for your role[s] as these characters?

Answered by Nicholas Hoult:

I watched all of them, but Dwight Frye is obviously such an iconic, wonderful performance and one that I did try to take a lot of inspiration from.

Answered by Nicolas Cage:

Dwight Frye in my view stole the original Dracula from Universal Movies. He ran away with that movie. It was an incredible performance. And now my favorite Renfield is Nick Hoult over here.

It’s a true story, he reinvented the character. He brought tons of charm, wit, and vulnerability to it.

So those are my favorites. Dracula itself, I think that while Bela Lugosi was an enormous impact on the character actually, and he did it without any fangs, ummm, wasn’t my Dracula. My Dracula was Christopher Lee and the Hammer Horror films. I loved his look and uh, the danger and the animality which he brought to the character.

But my favorite vampire on film was not a Universal vampire - it's the old Max Schreck performance and the Nosferatu picture.

Gary Oldman was brilliant also as Dracula.

Asked by Redditor u/NotEnoughIsTooMuch:

For both of you, what was your most challenging role?

Answered by Nicolas Cage:

My most difficult challenge was playing myself in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. No muscle in my body tells me to play myself in a movie, and I wanted them to cast somebody else. 

Answered by Nicholas Hoult:

They’re all difficult for different reasons. I don’t have as great an answer as that… but playing Beast was quite challenging simply because of the makeup.

[To Cage] Which reminds me, I really felt for you in this. You took it in stride.

Answered by Nicolas Cage:

Thank you.

Asked by u/Thewball:

What would you guys say is the coolest aspect of film production in general?

Answered by Nicolas Cage:

My favorite thing is film performance. That’s why I wanted to be an actor. For this I got to see Nick’s performance switching on a dime to be vulnerable at a moment’s notice. It is such a joy to watch.

Answered by Nicholas Hoult:

Something that I love is when you’re on a set and you open a drawer and someone has taken the time to write a letter. It may never end up on screen, but it’s so incredible that they took the extra step to make each aspect of the film feel more real and to make that moment special.

Answered by Nicolas Cage:

And there was a lot of that in this movie on the Renfield production.