Nicolas Cage has a new legal name — Nicolas Cage.
The Oscar winner, born Nicolas Kim Coppola, revealed that he legally changed his name last year and now officially goes by Nicolas Cage in both his personal life and career because he did not want to be the “clown cousin” of Hollywood royalty.
“I am Nick Cage. I changed my name legally last year,” the actor told Variety. “I’m Nick Cage in life, and I’m Nick Cage on camera.
“‘Tis better to be the patriarch of my own little family than the clown cousin on the margins of someone else’s, so I decided I’m going to bring it on and be ‘Cage.’”
Cage, 62, has used the name professionally for decades, but said distancing himself from the famous Italian-American Coppola family started early in his career.
The actor is the son of academic and author August Coppola and the nephew of legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola and actress Talia Shire. His cousins include filmmaker Sofia Coppola and actor Jason Schwartzman.
Between them, the Coppola family has collected eight Oscars, 10 Golden Globes, two BAFTA Awards, a Grammy and two Palme d’Or honors from the Cannes Film Festival.
The actor said he chose “Cage” partly because of the Marvel Comics character Luke Cage, while also drawing inspiration from avant-garde composer John Cage.
“‘Cage’ is a name that I liked coming across in the comics — I just thought he had a cool name — and I grew up in a very avant-garde, artsy family and there was talk about John Cage and the experimental compositions that he did,” he said.
He also admitted he wanted a name that felt “short and sweet” like James Dean.
“I thought, well, I’ll keep the name ‘Nicolas’ because my father named me Nicolas — with French spelling, which has always frustrated me, because everyone adds an ‘h,’” Cage said.
“I don’t know why he gave me the French spelling! But he did.”
As for whether he prefers “Nick” or “Nicolas,” the actor added: “I’m both! I think people know me as both.”
Cage has been credited as Nicolas Cage throughout nearly his entire career, aside from a 1981 TV pilot and the 1982 film “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.”
In the same interview, Cage also reflected on two major projects he passed on over the years.
The actor revealed he nearly played the Green Goblin in 2002’s “Spider-Man” before the role ultimately went to Willem Dafoe due to creative differences.
He also said he almost starred in the 1994 comedy “Dumb and Dumber” alongside Jim Carrey instead of Jeff Daniels.
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