Nicolas Cage admits that he took a string of direct-to-video roles after debtors started calling him and major movie studios stopped. The actor needed the money after he blew through his $150 million fortune—at one point he was spending $20,000 a month to care for his mother while he owed the IRS back taxes to the tune of $14 million.
The actor, who has appeared in over 100 movies, says that after a string of box office bombs the studios stopped asking him to appear in their theatrical roles. He admitted to GQ he took the direct-to-video roles to stabilize his financial situation—which had spiraled out of control.
"The phone stopped ringing. It was like, 'What do you mean we're not doing National Treasure 3? It's been 14 years. Why not?' Well, 'Sorcerer's Apprentice didn't work, and Ghost Rider didn't really sell tickets. And Drive Angry, that just came and went.'"
Cage admits that he blew through his $150 million fortune, his debt spiraled, and he owed the IRS millions of dollars and other creditors millions more. He was also spending $240,000 a year to care for his ailing mother.
“I’ve got all these creditors and the IRS and I’m spending $20,000 a month trying to keep my mother out of a mental institution, and I can’t,” Cage said about his debts. “It was just all happening at once.”
Cage admitted to The New York Times that his financial situation was part of the reason he took on so many projects back-to-back.
"I can't go into specifics or percentages or ratios, but yeah, money is a factor. I'm going to be completely direct about that. There's no reason not to be," he said at the time. "There are times when it's more of a factor than not. I still have to feel that, whether or not the movie around me entirely works, I'll be able to deliver something and be fun to watch."
After taking roles left and right, Cage says that he was finally able to crawl out of debt, and these days the actor boasts a respectable net worth north of $25 million.
Source: GQ, New York Times