Summary
- Nicolas Cage will portray NFL legend John Madden in an upcoming biopic directed by David O. Russell.
- Cage’s diverse roles showcase his talent, with recent critical acclaim for performances in various genres.
- Cage’s casting as Madden highlights his originality as an actor and adds excitement to the upcoming film.
Nicolas Cage has been cast as NFL legend John Madden in an upcoming biopic written and directed by David O. Russell. Madden spent 10 seasons as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders, with the franchise winning their first Super Bowl during that time. He later became an NFL broadcaster, and most famously, helped pioneer the widely successful and still ongoing Madden NFL video game series that has a new version of the game released before every NFL season.
According to Deadline, Cage has been cast in the leading role of Madden, which will explore the titular individual’s journey from head coach of the Oakland Raiders to shaping the popular and enduring Madden NFL video games, along with his time as one of the NFL’s most well-known broadcasters. The David O. Russell film will be a drama produced by Amazon MGM Studios. Russell went on to explain his vision for Madden and why he cast Cage in the role. Check out his comments below:
Nicolas Cage, one of our greatest and most original actors, will portray the best of the American spirit of originality, fun, and determination in which anything is possible as beloved national legend John Madden. Together with the ferocious style, focus, and inspired individualism of Al Davis, owner of the underdog Oakland Raiders, the feature will be about the joy, humanity and genius that was John Madden in a wildly inventive, cool world of the 1970s.
Nicolas Cage Continues To Diversify His Roles
He Has Become One Of Hollywood’s Most Exciting Stars
Earlier in his career, Cage was largely known for starring in mainstream action films that were entertaining, including The Rock, the National Treasure series, and Ghost Rider, but they were not always highly regarded or well-received. That has changed in the past decade as Cage has greatly diversified his filmography and received critical acclaim for his performances in Pig, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, and most recently in Longlegs. In these three films and many of his more recent projects, Cage’s acting is widely considered to be the highlight of these stories.
|
Movie |
Tomatometer Score |
Audience Score |
|---|---|---|
|
Pig (2021) |
97% |
84% |
|
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022) |
87% |
87% |
|
Longlegs (2024) |
86% |
60% |
Cage has now proven that he can excel in multiple genres, as Pig is a drama, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is a comedy, and Longlegs is a horror film. He is not restricted to live-action roles either, as he voiced Spider-Man Noir in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, with the positive reception to Cage’s performance leading to an upcoming Spider-Man Noir television series, where he will reprise the role. Cage has quickly become one of Hollywood’s most exciting stars and most unpredictable in terms of which role he will portray next.
This continues with Cage’s casting in Madden, as he is not an obvious choice to play the NFL legend. As Russell explained, though, Cage is one of today’s most original actors, which makes it all the more fitting for him to play Madden, whose originality led to the phenomenon of the Madden NFL games. Nicolas Cage‘s continued success and the variety in his roles adds another layer of intrigue and excitement for the upcoming movie.
Source: Deadline
