The son of comparative literature professor August Coppola (a brother of director Francis Ford Coppola) and dancer/choreographer Joy Vogelsang, Cage changed his name early in his career to make his own reputation, succeeding brilliantly with a host of classic, quirky roles by the late 1980s.

Initially studying theatre at Beverly Hills High (though he dropped out at 17), he secured a bit part in Fast Times at Ridgemont High -- most of which was cut, dashing his hopes and leading to a job selling popcorn at the Fairfax Theater, thinking that would be the only route to a movie career. But a job reading lines with auditioners for uncle Francis' Rumble Fish landed him a role in that film, followed by the punk-rocker in Valley Girl, which was released first and truly launched his career.

His one-time passion for method acting reached a personal limit when he smashed a street-vendor's remote-control car to achieve the sense of rage needed for his gangster character in The Cotton Club.

In his early 20s, he dated Jenny Wright for two years and later linked to Uma Thurman. After a relationship of several years with Christina Fulton, a model, they split amicably and share custody of a son, Weston Coppola Cage (b.1992).


The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010): $12,000,000
The Hungry Rabbit Jumps (2010): $12,000,000
The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans (2009): $2,000,000
National Treasure (2004): $20,000,000
Adaptation. (2002): $2,000,000
Windtalkers (2002): $20,000,000
Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001): $7,000,000
Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000): $20,000,000
Bringing Out the Dead (1999): $10,000,000
Snake Eyes (1998): $16,000,000
Face/Off (1997): $6,000,000
The Rock (1996): $4,000,000
Leaving Las Vegas (1995): $240,000
Vampire's Kiss (1988): $40,000
Valley Girl (1983): $5,000.00

Half German, half Italian. October 1997: Ranked #40 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. Nephew of Francis Ford Coppola and Talia Shire. Close friend of Tom Waits, Crispin Glover and Rush drummer Neil Peart. Owns a Lamborghini that used to belong to Prince Ali-Reza Pahlavi, the former Shah of Iran. Grandson of Carmine Coppola. 1997: He lived in a fake castle on the outskirts Los Angeles. He wants to import an authentic one from overseas. Collects comic books and sees them as being today's equivalent of mythology. Ranked #37 in Premiere's 100 most powerful people in Hollywood in 1998. Suffers from vertigo. On his upper back he has a tattoo of monitor lizard with a top hat. Cousin of Robert Schwartzman, who changed his name to Robert Schwartzman-Cage inspired by Nicolas. Father August Coppola, formerly a professor at Cal State Long Beach and Dean of Creative Arts at San Francisco State University Graduated UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television. On "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992), he told Jay that he took the name "Cage" from a comic book character named Luke Cage, the "first black superhero." This is not accurate; the first black superhero in mainstream comics was Marvel's Black Panther, introduced in 1966. Luke Cage, introduced in 1972, was also preceded by: Marvel's Falcon, introduced in 1969; the black western hero, Lobo, from Dell Comics in 1965 (the first black character to star in his own title); the title character of "Waku, Prince of the Bantu," an African chieftain, introduced as part of the Atlas Comics anthology title "Jungle Tales" in 1954. When asked which of the powers he would prefer to have, he said flight was his desire. One of three actors (with Lee Marvin [Cat Ballou (1965)] and Peter Sellers [Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)]) with an Oscar nomination for playing multiple characters in a film (in Adaptation. (2002), he plays two characters, Donald and Charlie). Marvin is the only one who actually won one for a double role. Met his future wife, Alice Kim Cage, at a sushi bar where she was a waitress. She was only 20-years-old at the time they married. Ate a real cockroach in the film Vampire's Kiss (1988), it reportedly took three takes. He once said about the experience, "Every muscle in my body didn't want to do it, but I did it anyway." His is (along with his cousin Sofia Coppola) the third generation of Oscar winners in the Coppola family. His uncle, Francis Ford Coppola and his grandfather, Carmine Coppola, are the other two generations. They are the second family to do so, the first family is the Hustons - Anjelica Huston, John Huston and Walter Huston. Trains in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Royce Gracie Former stepfather of Patricia Arquette's son Enzo July 2006: Bought Schloss Neidstein, a mini castle in the Bavarian village of Etzelwang. Was a very close friend of late Johnny Ramone. Considered "Blue" before settling on "Cage" as his surname. 2006: He purchased a home on the former property of John Wayne in Newport Beach, CA, for a record-setting $24 million. Offered the role of Green Goblin/Norman Osborn in Spider-Man (2002). 1999: Was among the guests at the wedding of Spike Jonze and Sofia Coppola. Others were George Lucas, Jason Schwartzman, Bo Barrett, Kirsten Dunst and Tom Waits. He said he realized that all great movie stars, such as Spencer Tracy, had had recognizable voices, so he has stylized his to be distinctive. Owns a home in New Orleans. Former son-in-law of Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley. In 2006, he donated $2 million to Amnesty International for a fund to help child soldiers. Owns the rights of the original The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1963) movie, for which he bought the rights from Ted Turner. He was going to use that as a new movie. Since Cage was busy with other projects, the movie didn't come to any fruition. Is an alumnus of the children's theatre group MET2 along with Adam Lambert, Sofia Coppola, Matt McFarland, Kylie Tyndall, Keaton Tyndall, Vivian Bayubay, Nathan Norton, Derek Klena, Lauren Klena, & Roma Watkins. Son of August Coppola and Joy Vogelsang.