“I’ve been set on fire but it’ll be a pig bite that kills me”: Nicolas Cage Was Scared For His Life After a Nasty Pig Bite in His $3.8 Million Movie
One of the most notable actors of his generation, Nicolas Cage, received acclaim from both the audience and the critics for his performance in Michael Sarnoski’s 2021 Pig. The main character of the film was a lonely truffle hunter who lived in the Oregonian wilderness. After his beloved foraging pig is abducted, he is forced to travel back in time to Portland to find her.
The film won an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay and earned Cage a second nomination for the Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Actor because of how well it was received by critics, particularly for his acting and screenplay.
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Nicolas Cage calls Pig his favorite movie
During an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Nicolas Cage was asked about his favorite movies in which he starred and he said, “I’m going to start with Pig, that’s my favorite movie I’ve ever made.” The movie, which was completed just before the pandemic, is considered Cage’s best performance in years and during an interview with Indie Wire, he was asked why was he drawn to the character of such restrained caliber.
Cage replied, “I was at a point in my own life when I understood the feeling of loss. I understood the profound connection you can have with our animal brothers and sisters. I was always close to my cat. I had a terrible nightmare [after] I read the script: I had lost my cat Merlin, something horrible happened.”
He continued that he felt he could play the characters organically and authentically and wouldn’t need to go and force it. Cage further said, “It was the right place and the right time for that kind of director-actor-protagonist relationship. It just flowed.”
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Nicolas Cage revealed Brandy the pig bit him several times
During a question & answer round, the filmmaker Michael Sarnoski revealed that the pig, Brandy, bit Cage several times while filming the movie and the actor said, “I’ve been set on fire, I’ve been in flipped cars, but It’ll be sepsis from a pig bite that kills me.” This comes after one of the bits from Brandy was pretty bad and pointed out that sadly Brandy is no more.
During an interview with GQ, Cage revealed that Brandy the pig was very much like the actors, payment oriented. “She was interested in food really and food only, understandably. She wasn’t that interested in people and I get that. But if they need a very soulful look in her eyes, off-camera, you could show her a bit of carrot. Magical things happen when you have a scene with a dog or a cat. Any animal, really.”
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“Pig is the haiku of cinema”: Nicolas Cage
The actor mentioned that in the movie there is not even a single gunshot, adding that it is a haiku was cinema, quiet, and in-depth character analysis which goes on the relay heavily on the ambiance and the photography, and the quietude of all the performances and the writing.
Cage pointed out that he has made his fair share of adventure movies, which have a heavy dose of violence, and now he’s happy that he has managed to explore different kinds of genres. He has also acknowledged that when he was playing Rob in Pig, he felt like he was closer to himself than maybe he had ever been because he wasn’t acting but he was doing something he cared about.
The 2021 film co-stars the likes of Alex Wolff and Adam Arkin.
Source: MoviePaws
