Nicolas Cage was born on January 7, 1964, to his writer father and dancer mother. Born Nicolas Coppola, Cage changed his name to escape the shadow of his uncle, director Francis Cord Coppola. At 17, he dropped out of Beverly Hills High School to act. He landed a bit part in the teen flick classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), and his first lead role came in Valley Girl (1983), in which he played a Hollywood punk in love with a rich girl from the "Valley." Cage then went on to play a war-scarred veteran in Birdy (1984) and then all manner of oddball in Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), Raising Arizona (1987), and Moonstruck (1987). In the latter film, his wacky but poignant portrayal of Cher's one-handed baker lover earned him a Golden Globe nomination and christened him an offbeat heartthrob. Through it all, Cage has tried to keep his personal life low-key, but the thrice-divorced actor's love life has been fodder for both the tabloids and mainstream media; rumor and speculation, for example, have haunted Cage's November 2002 divorce from Lisa Marie Presley after three and a half months of marriage.
The early 90s saw Cage broaden his acting range. He played an Elvis-obsessed thug in David Lynch's surrealist Wild at Heart (1990), but he also took on more "serious" work - playing a suicidal alcoholic in the stark Leaving Las Vegas (1995), a role that won him a Best Actor Oscar for his uncannily realistic portrayal. With his credibility established, he starred in the action blockbusters The Rock (1996), Con Air (1997), and Face/Off (1997). He also played romantic leads in The Family Man(2000) and Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001), returned to action for Gone in 60 Seconds (2001), and tried his hand at producing, most notably Shadow of the Vampire (2001). In Adaptation (2002), the highly anticipated project of Being John Malkovich (1999) director Spike Jonze, Cage worked double-time, playing both Charlie Kaufman, a neurotic screenwriter struggling with life, love, and writer's block, and Charlie's easy-go-lucky twin brother, Donald.
Cage no doubt owes part of his success to his legendary work ethic and craft; he goes all out in preparing for roles, from undergoing a tooth extraction without novocaine for Birdy (1984) to learning the mandolin for Captain Corellis Mandolin (2001).
