Butcher’s Crossing: Nicolas Cage talks about being in his first western and why he says he doesn’t have a career

Last Updated on September 10, 2022

The cinematic legend, Nicolas Cage, seems to be having a renaissance lately. After years of treading straight-to-video titles, his legacy seemed to survive on memes and past performances. Recently, he’s regained acclaim for performances in abstract films like Mandy and subtle films like Pig. All the while appearing in titles that would normally look to be below an Academy Award winner, like Willy’s Wonderland and Primal.

Cage is appearing at this year’s TIFF for his latest film, Butcher’s Crossing. This film marks the first western Cage has been in during his 40-year film career. Cage recently sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss how this came to be,

“Yes, it’s amazing to me. I know people sometimes laugh when I say I’m from the West, but the fact is, you can’t get any more West than California. I have a California drawl. It’s the way I speak. So I was sort of mystified that I had not been invited to do this in 40 years of cinema. It would be an easy match for me. It wouldn’t be easy for me to do an Arthurian drama, but to me, it was easy to fit right into a Western. Gabe actually offered me this script over five years ago, but it only came to fruition recently.”

Earlier this year, Cage appeared in the meta film, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, which parodied and celebrated the actor’s career and cult status. When asked what he thinks about this recent stage in his career, Cage said, “You know, I don’t really see it as a career — I even made a note of that in [Unbearable Weight]. I just see it as work. I never had a career, I only have work, and that’s the way I look at it. Everyone’s going to have ups and downs. So I just prefer to look at it as work.”

Butcher’s Crossing tells the story of a hunter in 1870s Colorado raising his hunt of buffalo to genocidal levels. The film will be premiering at TIFF (attended by our own Chris Bumbray) and has yet to announce a release date.

What do you think of the recent Cage-aissance?