Cage credits the meta action comedy for 'taking risks' in ET's exclusive behind-the-scenes clip.
Nicolas Cage is peeling back the curtain on playing "Nick Cage" in the meta action comedy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.
The film finds the seasoned actor playing a heightened version of himself and kicks off when Nick Cage accepts a $1 million offer to attend a wealthy fan's birthday party. Things take a wildly unexpected turn when a CIA operative recruits Cage for an unusual mission. Taking on the role of a lifetime, he soon finds himself channeling his most iconic and beloved characters to save himself and his loved ones.
In ET's exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the making of the movie, Cage reveals that though the character he plays borrows his name, it's all "fictional."
"It is not me. There are some elements that are truthful. It really is fantasy, if you will, culminating from whatever the perception has been in the media, the internet, whatever blips in my life that have occurred that have gone public as a result of being in the public eye," Cage says in the clip.
According to the team behind the film, Cage had a hand in incorporating nods to a few of his classic movie roles, including a shot-by-shot homage to 1995's Leaving Las Vegas.
In one sequence, Cage goes into a "German expressionism-type environment" as they included settings paying tribute to many of his past films. Cage was credited as being "a student of film" and making the "conscious decision to go away from naturalism" and "create a crazy, over-the-top character."
Cage also spoke about Unbearable Weight's "unique" narrative.
"It goes through all kinds of twists and turns that are unusual for a studio film. This movie is taking risks," he praises. "I want the audience to see something new and to be inspired by the way they were with Face/Off but in the context of a comedic narrative."
At the Los Angeles premiere of the film, Cage spoke to ET's Will Marfuggi about the hesitations he had about playing a fictionalized version of himself.
"I was terrified," the actor admitted at the time. "There was no muscle in my body that told me I should play a character called, 'Nick Cage.' When I act, I like to maybe hide a little bit behind a character, inform a character with my imagination and my emotions, but when it's called 'Nick Cage,' I have to think about the other Cages running around."
"I don't want to humiliate my family. I don't want to, hopefully, humiliate myself," Cage added. "So, it was scary for sure."
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is available on Digital June 7 and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand June 21 from Lionsgate.
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