Nicolas Cage (59) regrets eating a live cockroach for a film. The actor admitted this in an interview with “Yahoo Entertainment” about his new film “Renfield”. “I’ll never do that again,” Cage said, “I’m sorry I ever did it.”
In 1988’s “Vampire’s Kiss,” Nicolas Cage played a man who is bitten by his sex partner while making love. That’s why the yuppie thinks he’s turning into a vampire. And since that’s what bloodsuckers do, he eats a cockroach crawling around his kitchen.
In the screenplay for the horror comedy, there was still talk of a raw egg. But Cage insisted on a real cockroach. “I saw it as a professional decision,” he says in his DVD commentary, “because when people see the cockroach in my mouth, they really react.”
By the way, it didn’t stop with a cockroach. Cage had to swallow a second specimen of the insect species – even though director Robert Bierman had promised him he would use the first shot. “I ate two because the director made fun of me,” revealed the eccentric star.
“Vampire’s Kiss” was panned by critics and failed at the box office. Only later did the film become a cult phenomenon, responsible for many Cage memes. Extreme mime Cage is considered to be particularly painless in his role design. For his role as a Vietnam veteran in “Birdy” (1984), he had his (milk) teeth pulled without anesthetic.
In his new film “Renfield” Nicolas Cage does not play a man who thinks he is a vampire. He embodies Count Dracula himself. The title role of the vampire assistant is given by Nicholas Hoult (33). The “The Menu” star is responsible for killing insects this time. His Renfield character also eats a cockroach. But it was made of caramel.
For this, Hoult fed real grasshoppers, which had been marinated beforehand. The actor gushed about the taste in the Yahoo double interview with Cage. However, Hoult also swallowed a real Colorado potato beetle – an animal that colleague Cage was particularly terrified of.
Basically, Nicolas Cage has nothing against the consumption of (already dead) insects. “If we could get rid of our fear of eating insects, we could eliminate world hunger,” he said. “High protein, no fat, excellent nutrients, abundant,” Cage listed the benefits of the creepy crawlies, adding, “But no – that’s not going to happen.”
“Renfield” starts in German cinemas on May 25th.
