'I took the most beautiful girl in the world to my prom. After kissing her, I was so excited I threw up on her': Inside the head of... Nicolas Cage



Drinking Sambuca with weird women in white (at the age of three). Buying the most haunted house in America (deliberately). Scattering his father’s ashes (and why it was the best night of his life). It could only be Hollywood’s most unpredictable superstar...

What sort of child were you? 'The classic example of a child with his head in the clouds,' said Nicolas Cage

What is your earliest memory?

I was three and a half years old, in Italy with my family. My parents had gone out. There were these women dressed in white, I think they were nuns. They gave me something to drink. It tasted a bit like liquorice. They also fed me some kind of stew, which was made out of fox meat. I was on a bed with these women. They were rocking the bed and humming a song which meant I couldn’t sleep. Looking back, I’m pretty sure the drink they gave me was Sambuca.



What sort of child were you?

The classic example of a child with his head in the clouds. I was often by myself. I would always be making my classmates laugh. I was the class clown, a prankster.

What has been your most embarrassing moment?

I took the most beautiful girl in the world to my prom. After kissing her, I was so excited I threw up on her and the sidewalk. I’ve never been able to forget that. I’d guess that she’s never forgotten it either.



What do you dream about?

As a young kid I used to have a recurring dream. I’d be on the toilet and this giant blonde genie woman in a gold bikini would reach into the bathroom window like King Kong and pluck me off the toilet seat and laugh at me. Thankfully, I no longer get that dream. These days I mostly dream about my father and California grey whales, though not in the same dream.



What is your most treasured possession?

I’ve got two and they’re connected. The first is my little cottage in Somerset, near Glastonbury. Apparently, the cottage is situated on a network of mystical ley lines. I wouldn’t know about that, but it is a sacred place to me and I get down there whenever I can. My second choice is my 1964 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III, which I acquired in 2007. Her name is Vera and she’s the same age as me. There are few things more pleasurable than touring around Somerset in Vera. #

On his beautiful prom date: 'I was so excited I threw up on her and the sidewalk,' he said

What’s the worst thing anyone has ever said to you?

Someone once told me that my child, nine at the time, would be dead by the time he was 15. I immediately told that person to back away from the house and they did. My son, Weston, is now 23.



What are your best and worst character traits?



My best trait is also my worst, and that’s honesty. I’ve done some good being honest. I’ve also hurt a lot of feelings speaking my mind. Dennis Hopper once said to me, ‘Nvi, nwi.’ I asked him to elaborate and he said, ‘Never volunteer information, never withhold information.’



Who would your dream dinner date be?

My ideal dinner party would involve Bruce Lee, John Lennon and Miles Davis. I’m pretty sure the conversation would be stimulating. Also, as they’ve all passed on, there would be a supernatural aspect to the whole thing.



Describe the best night of your life



Two years before his death, my father had a wish that his ashes would be scattered in a particular place, a body of water outside of America that I won’t name. When he died in 2010, I kept dreaming about his ashes and so I knew I had to honour that wish. After quite a trek involving planes, cars and a water taxi, I reached the specified place. I scattered the ashes precisely at midnight. As they hit the water, church bells started chiming and a glorious full moon emerged from behind the clouds. It felt like the final scene in The Last Temptation Of Christ when Willem Dafoe’s Jesus screams in ecstasy, ‘It is accomplished!’ That was the best night of my life.



Who would like to say sorry to?

When I was in kindergarten, I was in a sandbox with some other kids. There was a little boy called Paul who had learning difficulties. All the kids were teasing him and I really regret participating in that. I wish so much I could find him and apologise.

'My best trait is also my worst, and that's honesty. I've done some good being honest. I've also hurt a lot of feelings speaking my mind,' said Nicolas (pictured with Rachel Nichols in Tokarev)

Tell us a secret about yourself



I once lived in the most haunted house in America. The LaLaurie Mansion in New Orleans used to belong to Madame LaLaurie, a wellknown 19th century socialite and serial killer. I bought it in 2007, figuring it would be a good place in which to write the great American horror novel. I didn’t get too far with the novel.



What are you best at?

I’d like to think I give a good speech.



What one law would you change?



A teenager goes on the rampage in an American school and shoots children. One of the things they’re looking to achieve is fame. It would be healthier all round if the news reported the facts and blanked out the face of the perpetrator. Maybe that would prevent the next person from doing something similar. Otherwise that face becomes an icon on the back of committing an atrocity. We need to stop glamorising this kind of behaviour and selling magazines on the back of it. It’s shameful.



What has been your greatest achievement?

Becoming a United Nations goodwill ambassador for drugs and crime, and also my work with Amnesty International. I’m also proud of my involvement in ArtWorks, a programme which raises awareness about child labour.



Which phrase do you most overuse?

Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.



‘Tokarev’ is out on DVD and Blu-ray tomorrow