The Actor Quentin Tarantino Calls a Master of Turning Miscasting Into Success

Quentin Tarantino has long been celebrated as cinema’s ultimate curator, a filmmaker whose vast knowledge of movie history informs every frame he creates. His work is often described as an intricate patchwork of references, effectively acting as a visual equivalent to musical sampling.

While his style is unmistakably unique, it is built upon a foundation of deep admiration for those who have come before him, as well as those contemporaries who possess a similar level of creative daring.

Given his reputation as a “cherrypicker” of cinematic greatness, Tarantino’s opinions on his peers are always a point of fascination for fans. He is known for his bold takes, famously naming Tony Scott’s Unstoppable as a standout film of the 2010s and once joking that a particular classic was so bad it made him want to retire.

These insights provide a window into the mind of the man behind Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, revealing the specific qualities he values in an artist’s performance. One performer who has always earned Tarantino’s respect is Nicolas Cage, an actor whose career has been defined by a polarizing but undeniably fearless approach.

Cage has delivered legendary performances in films like the Coen brothers’ Raising Arizona and David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, while also appearing in his uncle Francis Ford Coppola’s works like Rumble Fish. More recently, he has seen a massive career resurgence with critically acclaimed turns in the visceral Mandy and the soulful Pig.

Despite a resume that includes several commercial and creative missteps—such as Ghost Rider and the maligned 2006 remake of The Wicker Man—Tarantino finds Cage’s career to be a masterclass in risk-taking.

He once told critic Jim Hoberman that he had never seen another actor who made a career of being miscast and rising to the occasion. This “fearlessness” is what endears Cage to so many auteurs, with David Lynch famously describing the actor as the jazz musician of actors due to his unpredictable dynamism.

As of early this year, Nicolas Cage is showing no signs of slowing down his prolific output. He is currently preparing for the premiere of Spider-Noir, a live-action Marvel series for Prime Video that is scheduled to debut on May 27.

In the show, Cage brings his Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse character to life in a gritty 1930s noir setting, playing a down-on-his-luck private investigator in Manhattan. Additionally, he is set to reunite with Face/Off director John Woo this summer to film Gambino, a $40 million crime biopic where Cage will portray the notorious New York mob boss Carlo Gambino.

Tarantino, meanwhile, is experiencing a career pivot of his own that has stunned the industry. After shelving his tenth and final directorial project, The Movie Critic, he has spent much of the year stepping back into the spotlight as a leading man.

He recently finished filming his most substantial acting role in thirty years for the French drama Only What We Carry, directed by Jamie Adams. The film, which features an ensemble including Simon Pegg and Sofia Boutella, sees Tarantino playing an aging publisher named John Percy who is helping a friend navigate a life of isolation at a chateau in Normandy.

Beyond his acting work, Tarantino has also been busy as a writer and producer for the upcoming Netflix film The Adventures of Cliff Booth. Directed by David Fincher and featuring a $200 million budget, the 1970s-set sequel to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood sees Brad Pitt reprising his Oscar-winning role.

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