The buzz around Hollywood’s latest crack at surfing, and surf culture, aptly titled The Surfer, features Nicolas Cage as he breaks down into a psychedelic state of madness, while being assaulted – both physically and mentally – by a group (or wannabe “gang” rather) of angry West Australian surfers.
Hence the buzz; whenever Cage goes buck wild, it’s a must-watch for we, as an audience.
And Cage has some surfing experience prior to shooting the film, and during it, as director Lorcan Finnegan told us during our interview: “Nic also did some lessons with a local surf teacher there, just to get back up to speed. He has surfed before. He actually surfed with Kelly Slater years ago. I think he got stuck, like, in a washing machine cycle. He didn’t love it. But he went out and got lessons, and about two hours in, he was standing up again. I have to say, though, he was shitting himself about the sharks. Very sharky area. We were tracking the sharks via an app while we were shooting.”
Related: Nicolas Cage Goes Rat Sh*t Crazy in ‘The Surfer’ (Review)
But it sounds like Cage experienced a bit more drama in the water during the shoot. Per an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he elaborated on a sketchy situation in which he feared for his life.
“I just got pounded and literally got stuck in the rip tide, and they said they saw my board, they call it ‘tombstone,’ like that triangle top,” he told EW, continuing:
“I’m climbing up the leash as I’m somersaulting, and I could have died. Now I have a young kid, I don’t know if I want to do it anymore.”
However, Cage isn’t giving up on his surfing dream. He added:
“The goal is to retire, surf, drink red wine, and eat spaghetti.”
By the sheer volume of films Cage puts out – a staggering 114 pictures now – maybe that retirement could be coming sooner rather than later. So, don’t be surprised if Cage shows up at your local soon.
Oh, and by the way, read our review of The Surferhere.
Related: Sharks, Psychosis, and Nic Cage: BTS of ‘The Surfer’