Nicolas Cage is in his comeback era as the actor has had a number of hits in the past few years that have showcased his incredible talent. This year, the Oscar-winning actor starred in Renfield, which was a horror/comedy reimagining the classic Dracula story. Cage played the iconic vampire, and truly committed to the role. However, it wasn’t the first time he had played a vampire and committed hard, as he revealed he once ate a live cockroach for a vampire role, and he definitely regrets it.
In an interview with Yahoo! promoting Renfield with Nicholas Hoult, the National Treasure star shared that while filming the 1988 comedy, Vampire’s Kiss, he decided to fully commit to the vampire persona, and really ate a cockroach. Cage now regrets eating the roach, and probably wouldn’t have done that now. He said:
I’ll never do that again. I’m sorry I did it at all.
While Cage may regret the decision now, back in the ’80s, the actor defended his strange decision. In the DVD commentary for Vampire’s Kiss, he revealed that he thought eating the live bug was more authentic for the character. He also said it was the right move for both his performance and getting a rise out of the audience. He said at the time:
I saw it as a business decision because when people see the cockroach go in my mouth… [they] really react.
I can feel my skin crawl just thinking about it. Luckily, no cockroaches were actually consumed during the production of Renfield. Hoult revealed instead of live bugs, he opted for something sweeter instead, explaining:
The cockroaches I got to eat in this were caramel
While Cage’s decision to eat live cockroaches seems incredibly bizarre, he’s not the only actor who has done strange things for a role. Leonardo DiCaprio ate raw meat for The Revenant, which was the role that ultimately won him an Oscar. Also, just recently, Jeremy Strong actually drank that disgusting smoothie for a scene in the Succession finale. While these choices have been criticized in the past, this seems to only affect the actor consuming something disgusting, so I think it’s fair game for those willing.
While no cockroaches were harmed for Renfield, Cage still went through a lot for his Dracula character. He had to perform with razor-sharp fangs in his month, and he cut his lips several times during filming. However, he kept in the fangs throughout production anyways, in order to perfect his vampire voice. It all paid off, as the Face/Off actor got critical praise for his performance in Renfield. Cage also seemingly really loved embodying this character, and has already started pitching a Dracula solo film.
You check out Nic Cage in Renfield which is currently streaming with a Peacock subscription. You can also see his memorable cockroach-eating performance in Vampire’s Kiss, which is streaming for free on Tubi.