Nicolas Cage defends his VOD movies, says he "never phoned it in"

Nicolas Cage has opened up on why he starred in so many VOD (video on demand) movies – and has said he worked hard on them all.

Speaking to GQ, Cage explained that, after losing money on real estate, he needed to take on roles to pay off his debts and look after his mother, and he didn't want to file for bankruptcy.

"When I was doing four movies a year, back to back to back, I still had to find something in them to be able to give it my all," he said. "They didn't work, all of them. Some of them were terrific, like Mandy, but some of them didn't work. But I never phoned it in. So if there was a misconception, it was that. That I was just doing it and not caring. I was caring."

The actor was also honest about what happened to his career, and the switch from huge films to VOD. "The phone stopped ringing," he commented. "It was like, 'What do you mean we're not doing National Treasure 3? It's been 14 years. Why not?'" The honest answer, Cage said, was really: "'Well, Sorcerer's Apprentice didn't work, and Ghost Rider didn't really sell tickets. And Drive Angry, that just came and went.'"

Per GQ, in a strange twist, the role that sealed the deal on paying off his debts was none other than that of Nicolas Cage in the upcoming meta movie The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.

That film co-stars Pedro Pascal, Neil Patrick Harris, Tiffany Haddish, and Ike Barinholtz, and arrives this April 22.

In the meantime, check out our guide to all of this year's major movie release dates for everything else 2022 has in store for us.