Through his exaggerated facial expressions, Nicolas Cage quickly became a popular source of many famous memes. Con Air, Face/Off and Vampire's Kiss are just some of the films that became the basis for some of the internet's most enduring and recognisable memes, and the actor himself didn't find it particularly funny. No, he was downright frustrated with the situation, which he now shares in an interview with The Guardian where he had this to say:
"I might have been the first actor who went through a kind of meme-ification. One person had cherrypicked from all these different movies where I was having meltdowns, but without any regard for how the character got to that place. I was frustrated because I didn't know what people were taking from the movies other than that."
Cage said he eventually came to accept the situation, but that it was an exhausting process to deal with the new form of fame.
"I didn't understand how to process what was happening. I got into acting because I was moved by film performance more than any other art form. I didn't get into movies to become a meme. That was new. I made friends with it but it was an adjustment."
Do you sympathise with Cage? And how would you feel about becoming a popular meme?