Nicolas Cage only drinks alcohol on Fridays when he’s making a movie.
The 52-year-old actor – a Hollywood veteran of over 70 movies – takes his work very serious and now limits his nights out to just one a week when he’s shooting so he is completely prepared both mentally and physically for his art,
In an interview with the Metro newspaper, he shared: "I’m a very serious person when it comes to my work ethic. I have to manage my lifestyle if I want to perform at the top level. If I want to drink when I’m working, it’s on a Friday night and not after that. You have to have nothing in your body on Monday, because your anxiety levels go up. You have to stay relaxed so you can get the dialogue out. You’ve got a camera rolling and people relying on you, you’ve got to get the job done."
However, Cage still likes to have fun at work because a good atmosphere on set helps the entire creative process.
He said: "I[‘m going to try and have fun – because that will help the performance. If I don’t have fun, I’ve always thought the audience isn’t going to have fun."
Cage has portrayed a variety of characters through his career, including his Oscar winning performance as an alcoholic Hollywood writer in ‘Leaving Las Vegas’, but he feels he is always naturally drawn to darker roles.
The star – who plays a crook in Paul Schrader’s new film ‘Dog Eat Dog’ – said: "It’s a matter of taste. I have done comedies. As you know, I did ‘Raising Arizona’, ‘Honeymoon in Vegas’ and It ‘Could Happen to You’. But I was always attracted to music like Led Zeppelin or punk rock. There as a sincerity in that energy that I responded to and the same goes with film-making. I guess I feel more comfortable in that environment."
Nicolas Cage goes on booze ban for movies
