Nicolas Cage said in recent interviews that he plans to retire from acting, and that he has “maybe three or four more movies left” before turning his attention to television. In an interview, Cage said: “I feel like, at this point, after 45 years of doing this, and over 100 movies, I’ve pretty much said what I needed to say with film. And I’d like to leave on a high note and say, ‘Goodbye.'”
Cage suggested that he would have liked to close with “Dream Scenario,” the well-reviewed fantasy comedy in which he plays an academic who begins to appear in the dreams of others. It would have been his last film, but he has “other contracts to fulfill.”
Then there would be a jump to “episodic television”: “I have seen things that can be done now with the characters in the series, and the time they are given to express themselves. I watched Bryan Cranston stare at a suitcase for an hour on an episode of Breaking Bad. “We don’t have time to do that in a movie, so maybe television is the next best step for me.”
Retirees
Cage has acted in films since the early ’80s, with his first big-screen credit as Nicolas Coppola, his real name, in the teen comedy “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.” And like many other big names in Hollywood, he no longer has financial pressures, and in any case the push is artistic and ego-driven, to remain relevant. Something that streaming guarantees. There are many stars who have taken the leap. And the change is no longer read as losing the category. With a career as prolific as Cage’s, difficulty comes with new challenges. And the validity from the renewal.
Acting is one of those professions in which, if fame accompanies it, it is possible to practice it until death. Examples abound. A notable one is Michael Caine. At 90 years old, he is still going strong, with a dozen films in recent years, including “Interstellar,” “Kingsman,” “Youth,” “The Last Witch Hunter.” And among his latest successes is the comedy “Going In Style”, where he shared the bill with Morgan Freeman (86) and Alan Arkin, who died this year.
“Cinema retires you. You don’t retire from cinema. You get a rubbish script or the money is worthless and you say, ‘I’d rather stay home and watch TV.’ But there is always the chance for one more movie,” says Caine. Same arguments for Jessica Lange, who recently argued that she does not believe she will be an actress for long, especially if Hollywood continues to prioritize money over material.
The Oscar, Emmy and Tony-winning actress, who rose to fame with the 1976 version of “King Kong,” recently told The Telegraph that she is considering retiring and that she is going to “start to stop making films.” ” now that “creativity is secondary.” “The emphasis is not on the art, the artist or the narrative. “It’s about satisfying shareholders,” says the actress who also recently shone in streaming with “American Horror Story” and “Feud.”
Challenges
For many actors and actresses, lack of motivation is the key. The most famous case in recent times is that of Daniel Day-Lewis, who surprised Hollywood by announcing his retirement from acting. After the premiere of “Phantom Thread”, based on the fashion world of London in the 1950s, he has not filmed again. “I just need the time I spend not working on movies, the free time, to do the work I love to do the way I love to do it,” he explained. The slamming door has been going on for 5 years now. And something similar happens with a handful of big Hollywood stars.
For example, Cameron Díaz, who has not returned to the big screen since “Annie” in 2014. “I didn’t know who he was. Which is a difficult thing to face. “I felt the need to recover,” he said in an interview when presenting one of his books: he published two, “The Body Book,” a health and fitness manual, and “The Longevity Book,” about the art and science of aging. But there would be a return soon: People published photos of him on a set in London with Jamie Foxx.
Taking distance for a while seems to be the key. This is how Brad Pitt lives it, but also his ex-partner Gwyneth Paltrow, who has not returned to a set since the closure of “Avengers End Game” and focused her business efforts on Goop. She says that the only way to return to the big screen is if her husband Brad Falchuk wrote the script: “If my husband writes something and he wants me to do it, I will do it,” she said, interviewed for the “No Filter with Naomi” series, model Naomi Campbell.
The one who found new air after a retreat and therapy was the 2023 Oscar winner Brendan Fraser, who won the golden statuette with “The Whale”, 13 years after his last important role.
After rising to fame in the early ’90s for roles in films like “George and the Jungle,” Fraser’s career took off when she landed her role in the “Mummy” franchise. She continued acting into the late ’90s and 2000s, but fell out of the spotlight due to a variety of personal issues, including multiple surgeries and the death of her mother.
In an interview with GQ in 2018, Fraser also recounted the sexual assault she suffered at the hands of the former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (organizer of the Golden Globes), Philip Berk, in 2003. Reason why Fraser alleges , was blacklisted.
Precocious
For many actors and actresses who have gained early fame, the inability to replicate their resounding success later leads to frustration. And it is the reason for early retirements, like that of Emma Watson or the Olsen twins for example. Mary Kate and Ashley were big stars growing up, but they have since stepped away from the industry.
After attending New York University and launching their fashion design careers, they decided to retire from acting completely in 2012. “It was time to take a step back from the process. I wanted to work on other things. That doesn’t mean I’m not interested in Hollywood. But if I ever come back, it won’t be as an actress,” Ashley told Vanity Fair. Her sister Elizabeth Olsen continues her career as a star in the Disney world, but the twins preferred another direction.
The same thing happened to Jack Gleeson, who played King Joffrey in the hit HBO show “Game of Thrones,” one of the most hated characters on television for years: when his character was killed in the third season, the star decided end his career as an actor. “I have been acting since I was eight years old. I just stopped enjoying it as much as before. “It’s not that I hate it, it’s just not what I want to do,” he concluded in conversation with Entertainment Weekly.
Gleeson continued to study philosophy at Trinity College Dublin, but returned to acting with a puppet show.
Another famous case of a child star who saw her decline is that of Lindsay Lohan (“Twin Game” among others). But after years of hiatus, she returned to the small screen with the Netflix Christmas movie “Falling for Christmas” (her comeback since 2013’s “The Canyons”). Lohan told The Hollywood Reporter that acting again was “like riding a bike.” “She is a part of me. Making movies, playing a character, taking people on that journey with me is a great blessing.”
But the most notable case of recent times is that of Ke Huy Quan, who twenty years after making the “very difficult decision,” returned with his Oscar-winning performance as Waymond Wang in “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” The actor, who came with his family to Los Angeles after fleeing the Vietnam War, had accompanied his older brother to an open audition for Indiana Jones when he was 12 years old. Quan landed the role in the 1984 film (“Temple of Doom”) and reprized it the following year in another fan favorite, “Goonies.”
But then he made the decision to move away from Hollywood as offers came less and less frequently. And after graduating from film school he became an assistant director and stunt coordinator on around twenty films.
“I was happy working behind the camera, but lately, I wanted to be there with my fellow Asian actors,” Quan said after winning the Oscar, enjoying his celebrated revival: Hollywood romanticizes second chances.
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