Hi everyone and thank you for tuning into the 407th episode of Awards Chatter, the Hollywood

reporters awards podcast.

I'm the host Scott Feinberg and my guest today is an Oscar winner who has been called

by the Guardian quote, the greatest American actor working today full stop, close quote.

By David Lynch quote, the jazz musician of American acting, close quote.

And by Ethan Hawke quote, the only actor since Marlon Brando that's actually done anything

new with the art of acting, close quote.

He has starred in more than 100 films, some big budget studio picks and others indies made

for a song and a prayer, some giant blockbusters and others which went straight to VOD, some

critically acclaimed and others utterly penned.

But one thing has always been consistent.

His own performances are never anything less than fascinating.

In the view of the New York Times quote, unlike most movie stars who are walking answers,

machines who reliably fill expectations rather than confound them, he rarely does the obvious

thing, whether in his choice of roles or how he plays them, close quote.

And as Vox put it quote, among American actors he is inarguably singular, defining his

work is weirdly slippery.

Notice when you think you understand what his thing is, he does something entirely different

close quote.

I'm talking of course about Nicholas Cage.

Over the course of our conversation, the 57 year old and I discussed what it was like

growing up Nicholas Coppola and why even before he was a star, he was insistent on playing

...