The 25 most outrageous Nic Cage moments that made us say "Wait, he actually did that?"

6. Threatening Old Chucks - Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans (2009)

The Nic Cage Moment: Crooked junkie cop Terence McDonagh will stop at nothing to uncover the whereabouts of a witness in his case: including tracking down his grandmother, Betty, in her care home.

Why It's Nuts: He rips the oxygen supply from Betty's elderly patient, threatening to kill her if she doesn't fess up. When that holds no sway, he puts a gun to Betty's head.

Why It's Awesome: When McDonagh first reveals his hiding spot behind the door, his intimidating speech is soundtracked by the buzz of his electric razor while he shaves.

5. Breakdown - Deadfall (1993)

The Nic Cage Moment: For his brother's directorial debut, Cage was given free rein on every aspect of his character, Eddie, a sleazy con man. After an attempted hit on his life, he returns home to vent.

Why It's Nuts: Slamming the front door screaming "Someone's trying to kill me man!" he morphs into a blubbering mess after sniffing a cigar, then takes his crazy to the bed. Fists pounding the mattress, he froths and dribbles while incoherently ranting.

Why It's Awesome: The end of his tirade concludes with the nonsensical comment "... well, viva la fuckin France man!"

4. Bear punch - The Wicker Man (2006)

The Nic Cage Moment: In the so-bad-it's-good remake of The Wicker Man, Cage's investigation to find his missing daughter in a tight-knit coastal town pushes him to the bad cop brink.

Why It's Nuts: He punches one woman, then kicks another across the room in one of the movie's inadvertently hilarious scenes. Unsatisfied, he stomps off to smack another.

Why It's Awesome: ...cause he's wearing a bear suit throughout.

3. Prescription - Matchstick Men (2003)

The Nic Cage Moment: As OCD-sufferer Roy Waller in Ridley Scott's con men caper, an urgent visit to the pharmacy spirals into a performance that'd be a show-stopper on Broadway.

Why It's Nuts: A recipe of fervent wailing, nervous tics and inane babbling, all aimed at the pharmacist and a queue of customers he's gleefully ignored, this is Cage at his most riotous.

Why It's Awesome: In an attempt to coerce the pharmacist, he yells "Have you ever been dragged to the sidewalk and beaten until you PISSED BLOOD?!"

2. Vampires Kiss (1988)

The Nic Cage Moment: His entire performance as the mentally-unhinged literary executive Peter Loew.

Why It's Nuts: Embracing the bizarre belief that he's transformed into a vampire, he dons a set of plastic fangs, dragging an old plank around New York like an evil dervish. Screaming "I'm a vampire!" down the street tops it off, securing Vampire's Kiss as his most certifiably batsh*t.

Why It's Awesome: Cage commits to his method performance by actually eating a live cockroach.

1. The Nic Cage losing his sh*t mash-up

The Nic Cage Moment: A four minute, fan-made mash-up chronicling Cage's most manic movie scenes.

Why It's Nuts: Never has there been a more relentless barrage of an actor's choicest cuts - interspersed with frenzied screams, hissy fits and cries of anguish - building to a deranged crescendo.

Why It's Awesome: It's edited to maximise the impact of Cage's continual descent into insanity, all perfectly set to Clint Mansell's haunting Requiem For A Dream score.

Gem Seddon

Gem Seddon is GamesRadar+'s west coast Entertainment News Reporter, working to keep all of you updated on all of the latest and greatest movies and shows on streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Outside of entertainment journalism, Gem can frequently be found writing about the alternative health and wellness industry, and obsessing over all things Aliens and Terminator on Twitter.