Nicolas Cage says he's "never going to retire"

Nicolas Cage
(Image credit: RLJE Films)

Nicolas Cage isn't planning on retiring from acting – ever.

"That can't happen," the actor told Entertainment Weekly of retirement. "To do what I do in cinema has been like a guardian angel for me, and I need it. I'm healthier when I'm working, I need a positive place to express my life experience, and filmmaking has given me that. So I'm never going to retire. Where are we now, 117 movies? [Laughs]"

He added: "What's funny is, my argument with people who go, 'You work too much,' was 'I like working, and it's healthy, I'm happy when I'm working, and by the way, guys like Cagney and Bogart, they were doing hundreds of movies.' And then I went, 'I'd better check that,' and I went, 'Oops.' [Laughs] Jerry Lewis was one of my friends, and he and I would go and have dinner together, and he would say, 'How many movies you got?' I go, 'I got about 100, how many you got?' 'I got 40. So you got twice as much as me?' 'Well, I didn't know that, Jerry.'"

Cage can next be seen in Sion Sono's Prisoners of the Ghostland, portraying a bank robber on the trail of a missing girl who has vanished into a supernatural world. He also recently appeared in the critically acclaimed Pig, and will be playing himself in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, with a cast that includes Pedro Pascal, Neil Patrick Harris, and Tiffany Haddish.

Prisoners of the Ghostland releases in theaters and on VOD this September 17, following its January premiere at Sundance Film Festival.

If you're on the hunt for some excellent films, check out our guide to the best Netflix movies to fill out your watchlist.

Molly Edwards
Entertainment Writer

I'm an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.