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There are few, if any actors working in Hollywood today whose reputation proceeds them quite like Academy Award-winner Nicolas Cage. But for all the attention paid to his unique performance style and preparation, the aspect of Cage’s work that has kept him relevant for decades on end is his seriousness and dedication to his craft.
During a conversation with BroBible’s Post Credit Podcast ahead of the release of the new Prime Video series Spider-Noir — which hit the streaming service on Monday, May 27 — Oscar nominee Brendan Gleeson, who stars as the primary antagonist Silvermane opposite Nic Cage’s 1930’s NYC version of the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, detailed the expectations and reality of working alongside such a famously singular actor.
Oscar-nominated actor Brendan Gleeson says he learned about Nicolas Cage’s “commitment to fearlessness” when working alongside him on Spider-Noir
Eric Italiano, BroBible: Nic Cage has a reputation that precedes him. What about working with him surprised you most, and did his performance style affect yours at all?
GLEESON: I think we were both encouraging of each other’s eccentricities. There was a tendency at the beginning to wonder — is this going to be a little too much? How far can we push things? But there was an understanding, shared by the showmakers, that this was a license. Nic had a great phrase: “70% Humphrey Bogart and 30% Bugs Bunny” — which was really funny, but there is a cartoony, larger-than-life aspect to this that you really do need to embrace.
It’s interesting — talking about Gangs of New York, most of the older actors in that film embraced a larger-than-life theatricality. “I can lick any son of a b—- in the house” — these guys embraced hugeness. Some of the younger actors were playing it very internally. It was an interesting mix. But in Spider-Noir I feel we got the tone right — there was an embracing of the theatricality of the era.
Working with Nic, we knew we had to maintain the integrity of the story and the reality that you can believe these characters as grounded people in a very specific city at a very specific time. But also — he swings from buildings on a piece of web. He’s a spider. There is no real “over the top” — over the top is the top of the Empire State Building. So it’s an incredible mix, and sometimes tonally it’s difficult. But I felt both Nic and I, and the different people who came in, had an innate understanding of where the tone should be, and we felt we could push it.
What surprised me — I expected his unpredictability and his commitment, whichever choices he makes. I was not disappointed in that. But he also wasn’t reckless. We’d talk, listen, ask: is this going too far? Are we having too much fun here? He has a real commitment not just to fearlessness but to making it work. That was the fun of it.
Alongside the Oscar-winning Nicolas Cage and nominated Brendan Gleeson, Spider-Noir — which will hit Prime Video on Monday, May 27 — also stars Lamorne Morris, Li Jun Li, Karen Rodriguez, Abraham Popoola, and Jack Huston. You can watch our full interview with Gleeson below.