![\"Nicolas](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Nicolas-Cage-Clint-Eastwood-Split-2025-Far-Out-Magazine--1140x855.jpg\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
(Credits: Far Out \/ YouTube Stills)<\/p>\n
Nicolas Cage<\/a> has made so many movies in his career that it could be argued he has more criminally overlooked gems than any other Hollywood actor. The man has starred in some bona fide classics, several massive box office hits, and a veritable smorgasbord of truly dismal films that didn\u2019t work at all. Somewhere in the middle is his collection of genuinely great movies that didn\u2019t find an audience at the time or were unfairly dismissed by critics and have since gained much stronger reputations. He is a massive fan of one of these films, too, primarily because he truly connected to the unique character he played.<\/p>\n In the early 2000s, Cage was still a decade away from tumbling into direct-to-video hell<\/a>. After a couple of misfires in Captain Corelli\u2019s Mandolin and Windtalkers, he came roaring back with Adaptation, receiving his second \u2018Best Actor\u2019 Oscar nomination for his incredible performance as oddball twins Charlie and Donald Kaufman. Once again, Cage was at the height of his powers, and he had a choice of two legendary directors to work with on his next project: Ridley Scott or Clint Eastwood.<\/p>\n At the time, Scott was experiencing a career resurgence thanks to the all-conquering success of Gladiator in 2000, which he followed up with Hannibal and Black Hawk Down in 2001. All three of these films were massive moneymakers, and two of them saw Scott receive his best reviews in a decade. By contrast, Eastwood was going through a much stickier directorial patch, with neither 2000\u2019s Space Cowboys nor 2002\u2019s Blood Work being much to write home about. <\/p>\n Perhaps this contrast in fortune was in the back of Cage\u2019s mind when he chose between Matchstick Men and Mystic River, or maybe he just believed in Scott\u2019s black comedy crime caper more than Eastwood\u2019s mystery drama based on a Dennis Lehane novel<\/a>. However, when he spoke with The Ringer in 2025, Cage hinted that the character of conman Roy Waller may have swung the balance toward Scott\u2019s film, as he was more intrigued by him than Tim Robbins\u2019 tragic kidnapping suspect in Eastwood\u2019s adaptation.<\/p>\n \u201cI really cared about that character, and I cared about his afflictions,\u201d Cage said. \u201cI had a personal relationship with it, and that was the story I wanted to tell.\u201d <\/p>\n Naturally, Cage threw himself into playing Waller, who suffered from OCD and Tourette\u2019s syndrome, with customary commitment. It resulted in one of his best performances, somehow over the top and entertaining, yet sensitive and complex at the same time. Critics loved his work in the movie, and there was even Oscar buzz at one point. <\/p>\n Sadly, the film didn\u2019t quite sustain this traction, and though it made its money back at the box office, it didn\u2019t last long in the cultural consciousness. Over the years, it had to make do as a cult classic that a dedicated fanbase would constantly champion, which isn\u2019t the worst fate for a film. However, Cage always felt it deserved better, musing, \u201cI think that movie was great. That movie, to me, is one of [Scott\u2019s] best movies, and I would like to have that movie be more revered.\u201d<\/p>\n