Credit: Far Out / YouTube Still
Sat 15 August 2026 17:15, UK
When Nicolas Cage was starting out as an actor, he tried his best not to associate with his famous family, wiping Coppola from his name and replacing it with Cage…but would he have gotten into Hollywood without such nepotistic ties?
Of course, Cage has turned in some great performances, but he certainly got a head start by having the director of The Godfather and Apocalypse Now for an uncle, as well as practically every other family member being involved in the industry in some way or another. So, after bagging a small role in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, he’d then appear in some of Francis Ford Coppola’s movies, like Rumble Fish and The Cotton Club.
During these early years of his career, in which he gained vital experience as an actor, Cage would bag a role in the film Racing with the Moon, one of his first encounters with a movie he’d come to dislike. It was an entirely new experience, landing a role that might not actually have a beneficial effect on the upward trajectory of his career, and the actor would subsequently try to forget the film.
He didn’t need to worry, though, because most people seem to have forgotten about this 1984 drama, which was the second feature from actor-turned-director Richard Benjamin. He’d later find more success with Mermaids, starring Cher and Winona Ryder, but Racing with the Moon hasn’t endured with the same devotion from fans.
The movie, set in the 1940s, follows two young men as they anticipate their imminent drafting into the US Army, with Cage starring alongside Sean Penn and Elizabeth McGovern. There’s even a young Crispin Glover, who made his second-ever on-screen appearance in the movie.
While legendary film critic Roger Ebert was keen on the movie, rating it three-and-a-half stars out of four, Cage felt quite differently. He didn’t even want to promote it. Writing a rather positive review, Ebert said, “I’d like to start with a hypothetical question: How long has it been since you went to a movie that ended with the words ‘I love you?’”
Adding, “For me, it had been a very long time, and one of the simpler pleasures of Racing With the Moon was to observe the movie marching inevitably toward those three words. A deeper pleasure was that the movie arrived there with grace and charm.”
Further reading: Cutting Room Floor
Cage was much less enthusiastic, telling the Los Angeles Times, “I’m not a great fan of that film. It wasn’t as cohesive as it should have been. I’m not really sure publicity would have helped it.” The film grossed just over $6million against its $6.5m budget, and Cage would quickly move on to other projects, including his uncle’s The Cotton Club and Peggy Sue Got Married.
By 1987, the actor had long forgotten Racing With the Moon, with a leading role alongside Cher in Moonstruck, which garnered significant acclaim. He was fast on his way to becoming a stalwart movie star. Well, Cage would much rather prefer it if you called him a thespian.
