Nicolas Cage has said film critics must try harder to ignore an actor's fame when reviewing movies, or risk contributing to a culture where artists are known only for their celebrity and not their work in front of the camera.

Speaking at the SXSW festival in Austin, Cage lamented his own notoriety and the way it affected how his films are perceived. The actors who inspired him to learn his art, he suggested, didn't face the same indignity.

"I started acting because I wanted to be James Dean," Cage told an audience of journalists. "I saw him in Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden. Nothing affected me – no rock song, no classical music – the way Dean affected in 'Eden'. It blew my mind. I was like, 'That's what I want to do.' This was before everyone had a thing called a smartphone and before the advent of the 'celebutard' – just being famous for famous' sake. I'm not complaining, but it really sucks to be famous right now."

Cage said he was fed up with reviewers discussing his personal life instead of his acting work. "Now even the art of film criticism … now in the LA Times, the critic who reviewed Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call – New Orleans, incorporated how many homes I bought or sold into the review," he said. "What the hell does Lindsay Lohan's personal life have to do with her performance in The Canyons? It should always be about the work itself. What difference does it make if Bill Clinton had an affair – how does that affect his performance as president? In my opinion, I don't want to see personal aspects of someone's life eclipse [their] work."

Cage is at SXSW to promote his new film, Joe, with director David Gordon Green. An adaptation of adaptation of Larry Brown's 1991 novel, the drama also stars Tye Sheridan and Ronnie Gene Blevins. It was well reviewed at the 2013 Toronto and Venice film festivals.

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