Nicolas Cage was born Nicolas Kim Coppola on January 7, 1964, in Long Beach, California. The son of August Coppola and Joy Vogelsang, Cage is also the nephew of Hollywood director Francis Ford Coppola After having worked on several films, Cage decided he did not want to use his family name because of the expectations attached to it.

Cage decided to become an actor after watching James Dean's performance in East of Eden, and was able to relate to Dean's character who was constantly trying to please his father. Cage then enrolled in the Young Conservatory (part of the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco), where he stayed for one summer.

After Cage's parents divorced when he was 12 years old, he lived with his father in San Francisco, where he spent summers with his uncle Francis before his parents' divorce. He refers to the summers he spent with his uncle and cousin Sofia as his best memories.

It's hard to believe that Cage was a social outcast in high school -- awkward and too shy to ask girls out -- especially when associating him to the characters he has portrayed in movies such as The Rock and Face/Off.

Cage's first film role was in his uncle's film Rumble Fish in 1983. After being taunted by envious cast members who would refer to famous movie lines from his uncle's films, Cage decided to change his last name. He toyed with different last names and finally chose Cage in honor of comic-book superhero Luke Cage and the composer John Cage. His first audition as Nicolas Cage was for the movie Valley Girl, his follow-up role to Rumble Fish.

In 1984, he starred in his first dramatic role in Birdy, as a Vietnam veteran. That same year, Cage also appeared in Racing With the Moon and The Cotton Club. Two years later, Cage starred opposite Kathleen Turner in Peggy Sue Got Married, also directed by Coppola. His role as a 50's rocker was not well received by critics since Cage adapted his role and distorting it by adding a high-pitched voice to the character. Cher, on the other hand, was impressed by his performance and thought he would be perfect for what was to be Cage's first blockbuster film, Moonstruck. His role as the tormented lover earned him a Golden Globe nomination.

Cage's role in Raising Arizona that same year received critical acclaim, and it was the first time Cage revealed his comedic side in what is one of his most loved film roles. He is remembered for his dark and quirky role in 1989's Vampire's Kiss, where he faced his fear of insects and ate a live cockroach in one scene.

Vegas must be Cage's lucky place. In 1992, he starred in the romantic comedy Honeymoon in Vegas with James Caan and Sarah Jessica Parkerin his first mainstream movie role, marking a turning point in his career. After roles in unsuccessful films such as Amos and Andrew and Guarding Tess, Cage finally received the recognition he deserved for his dark role as an alcoholic in the alternative film Leaving Las Vegas. His intense role, which was helped by the fact that he had just recently broken up with his fianc?e, Kristen Zang, earned him an Oscar for Best Actor.

After his Oscar win, Cage wanted to take on more of a superhero role and starred opposite Sean Connery in the 1996 summer blockbuster The Rock, also starring Vanessa Marcilas his wife. The trend of summer blockbusters started at this point with Cage's role in 1997's Con Air and Face/Off, where Cage and John Travolta switch identities.

His next film roles were not as successful and ended up being box-office disappointments. He co-starred with Meg Ryanin the romantic film City of Angels and starred in Snake Eyes the same year. 8 MM and Bringing Out The Dead, a role for which Cage rode in ambulances with paramedics to research his role, were equally disappointing.

Cage has been married to actress Patricia Arquette since 1995 and they live with their sons, each from previous marriages.

He can be seen in this action thriller Gone in 60 Seconds, co-starring Angelina Jolie, as well as a WWII drama with Spanish beauty Penelope Cruz