Jordan Karlesson
He’s played a treasure hunter, a convict, and an alcoholic. A drug-addled cop, a supernatural stunt motorcyclist with a flaming skull, and himself. But the biggest role of Nicolas Cage’s career was almost Neo, who Keanu Reeves played as the star of The Matrix.
Videos by Rare
To boot, he almost clinched a role in Lord of the Rings, according to an interview he gave People in April 2022. He said his family obligations took precedence over him appearing in either film (or both).
“There’s no version of Nic Cage in reality that doesn’t want to spend time with his children,” Nicolas Cage said. “There’s no version of Nic Cage that didn’t put family first over career. I turned down Lord of the Rings and I turned down Matrix because I didn’t want to go to New Zealand for three years or Australia for three years because I needed to be home with my son Weston. That’s a fact.”
“The Matrix” Starring Nicolas Cage?
Say what you will about Nicolas Cage talking about himself in the third person. If he’s speaking the truth, the actor actually doesn’t think about — or put — himself first.
As it turns out, Cage — at 58 years old — just became a father again. He had a child with wife Riko Shibati. The newborn is Cage’s third child but comes 31 years after his first.
“Nicolas and Riko are happy to announce the birth of their daughter,” a rep for the couple told People. “Mother and baby are doing fine.”
Cage seemingly has a child every 15 years or so. He is also the father to sons Weston, 31, and Kal-El, 16, with exes Christina Fulton and Alice Kim, respectively.
Shibata, 29, is half his age — but hey, that’s Hollywood for ya (if you’re a man).
