‘The Surfer’: Nicolas Cage & Lorcan Finnegan Dive Into Aussie Surrealism, Retirement, ‘Madden’ & ‘Spider-Man Noir’ [The Discourse Podcast]

Nicolas Cage has been on a tear lately. From standout performances in “Pig,” “Dream Scenario,” “Longlegs,” and “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” to now “The Surfer,” the Oscar-winner is once again redefining his career with bold, unpredictable choices. Directed by Lorcan Finnegan (“Vivarium,” “Nocebo”), “The Surfer” is a sun-bleached fever dream about masculinity, ego, and unraveling identity that veers from the poetic to the primal.

In the latest episode of The Discourse, Cage and Finnegan join the show to talk about the emotional depths of their surreal new film, which hits theaters on May 2nd.

READ MORE: ‘Havoc’: Gareth Evans Talks Tom Hardy, Virtual Cameras, Christmas Violence & The Possibility Of ‘The Raid 3’ [The Discourse Podcast]

For those unfamiliar, “The Surfer” follows a man (Cage) who returns to the beach from his youth with his son, only to find that a menacing local surf gang has claimed it as their turf. After a humiliating altercation, Cage’s character digs in and refuses to leave, spiraling into paranoia, violence, and existential breakdown. What starts as a sun-drenched drama slowly mutates into something much weirder and more psychological. The film also stars Julian McMahon, Finn Little, and Alexander Bertrand.

Cage said he felt a deep emotional connection to the role. “It’s kind of like that feeling of being in the wilderness and not knowing if I’m ever going to get back to what I love,” he said. “And that memory that I had, and where I want to be, where I want to live, and who I want to be with. The script spoke to all of that to me—as a man who’s gone through a lot of ups and downs and different experiences at home and also in work.”

And the commitment shows. Cage’s performance goes all-in—drinking from puddles, keeping a fake rat in his pocket for scenes, even forcing someone else to eat it. As Finnegan recalls, “He kept it in his pocket, tail hanging out. Then he told me he was thinking about the movie ‘Sabrina,’ and how someone makes another guy eat an olive. It became this power thing, and he ran with it.”

Finnegan said Cage was onboard from the moment he read the script. “He’d seen ‘Vivarium’ and ‘Nocebo,’ liked that they were a bit weird. He said, ‘This is my bag.’ Once we started talking, it was clear we were on the same wavelength.”

The film sticks tightly to Cage’s character’s perspective, blurring the line between what’s real and what’s not. “I felt I had the life experience to play it sincerely, authentically,” Cage said. “And I also felt stylistically, with a director like Lorcan, he wasn’t afraid of a non-linear narrative… to keep it enigmatic.”

Though Cage once mentioned he only had “four more lead roles” left in him, that outlook has shifted. “I keep getting surprises,” he said. “When I said that, I was feeling like I’d said everything I wanted to say with cinema. I wanted to try something else-maybe stage, maybe television. But movies are where I’m happiest. My first love is cinema, and I think it always will be.”

That said, Cage has expanded into television. He’s now starring in the upcoming live-action “Spider-Man Noir” series. “Yes, mostly it’s about experimenting with the form,” he explained. “But also that I had seen television work that I thought provided a new length of narrative, where perhaps you could have more time to build something. And, you know, it was a new experience that, again, will hopefully keep me invigorated.”

Details remain secretive. “The studio has this like five-inch thick cone of silence,” he joked. “I can’t talk about it as much as I’d like to talk about it. But I will say it’s a very different experience than filmmaking.”

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Cage is also preparing to portray John Madden in a biopic directed by David O. Russell. “I’m supposed to be in Atlanta in a week from now,” he said. “So, I mean, it seems like we’ve crossed the Rubicon on that, yeah.” On Russell, Cage said, “David is a filmmaker who is very original and very from scratch, and in the true sense of the word, auteur. And so, there’ll be lots of surprises, as are often with his movies.”

As for franchise fare, Cage confirmed that while talks around films and characters like “Ghost Rider,” “Face/Off 2,” and “National Treasure 3” continue to swirl, the most tangible is the long-gestating sequel to “Lord of War.” “The most real, in my view, would maybe be ‘Lords of War,” he said. “The script is complex, intellectual—like Andrew Niccol. And I’m very much supporting it.”

Until then, “The Surfer” offers a gritty, bizarre, and completely unfiltered glimpse into Cage’s continued evolution as a performer. Equal parts surf noir and psychological horror, it’s one of his most daring roles in years.

“The Surfer” opens in theaters May 2nd via RLJE Films and XYZ Films. You can listen to the full conversations below:

The Playlist Presents: Director Lorcan Finnegan’s Film Recommendation Playlist:

• “The Swimmer” (1968)
• “Wake in Fright” (1971)
• “Walkabout” (1971)
• “The Last Wave” (1977)
• “Adaptation” (2002) — Lorcan’s favorite Nic Cage film

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