Nicolas Cageis set to terrify audiences in the new horror filmLonglegs, which debuts on July 11, 2025, but before its premiere, the 60-year-old Academy Award-winner is sharing some of theunusual inspiration behind his demented serial killer. Cage stars alongside Maika Monroe, who portrays FBI agent Lee Harker in the new film by Osgood Perkins, which some are calling"the scariest film in years,“includingMoveWeb’s own Will Sayre. Anticipations are certainly high for what is also being dubbedthis generation’sSilence of the Lambs, as fans eagerly wait tocatch a glimpse of Cage for the first time.
In an interview withThe New Yorker, Nicolas Cage revealed that both heand director Oz Perkinswereon the same page when it came toLonglegsand what the film, and Cage’s serial killer, were about. For Cage, he says that he wanted to"make this character about my mom.“Check out his comments below.
“For some reason, when I read the script,I heard my mother’s voice. And then I met with [the director Oz] Perkins at the Polo Lounge. And the first thing he said to me was, ‘Nic, this is a movie about my mother.’ And I said, ‘Well, that’s very interesting, Oz, because I was just thinking thatI want to make this character about my mom.'”
Longlegs is a horror thriller film by writer-director Osgood Perkins. When FBI agent Lee Harker is assigned to a serial killer cold case, their investigation leads them down a rabbit hole riddled with disturbing discoveries and the occult at the center of it all. When the trail of evidence reveals a personal connection, it becomes a race against time to prevent another murder.
Cage would clarify thatit wasn’t his mother’s satanic tendencies(of which there were none) that he wanted to emulate,but rather her tone and movements, which he called"scary"as he was growing up. For him,Longlegsis all aboutpaying homage to the woman who raised him.
“She would talk, like, [mimics her voice] ‘Oooh, Nicky, you looked just like a little bird when you were born.‘And that was just scary. I think my mom did as well as she could with the situation in which she was contending with, but it was still scary. So I thought, O.K.,I want to make this character as a sort of homage to my mother. Not that she was satanic, but her vocalizations, the way she would move. So that’s why this is so different. It’s not Tiny Tim. It’s [Cage’s mother] Joy Vogelsang.”
Born in Long Beach, California to August Coppola and Joy Vogelsang, Cage set his sights on acting at an early age,crediting Hollywood legend James Deanas some of his early inspiration. No stranger to the movie business at that time,Cage’s uncle is acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola, the man behind such classics asThe GodfatherandApocalypse Now,who also directed Cagein some of his earlier work, likeThe Cotton ClubandPeggy Sue Got Married.
However, while it was James Dean that Cage saysfirst made him want to be an actor, it was his father, August, who Cage would emulatefor some of his early roles, like the character of Peter Loew in the 1989 horror-comedyVampire’s Kiss. He would againdraw on that inspiration later in his careerfor the 2023 film,Renfield, where Cage portrayedeveryone’s favorite vampire villain,Dracula.
“Well, my dad was definitely Peter Loew. His voice was all, [mimics him] ‘You know, Nicky, let me tell you something.’ That continental, mid-Atlantic accent. And then I brought him back for Dracula inRenfield. So, yeah, happy childhood, right? Dracula is Dad and Longlegs is Mom.”
Longlegs Star Blair Underwood on Hunting Nicolas Cage Like We’ve Never Seen Him Before
Blair Underwood spoke with MovieWeb about Longlegs, the scariest movie of the year, and Nicolas Cage’s wild performance.
Audiences can find out for themselves just how much of a happy childhood Nicolas Cage had whenthe serial killer he modeled after his mothermakeshis long-awaited appearanceinLonglegs, whichhits theaters on June 09, 2025.
To get a taste of what’s to come inLonglegs, check out the video below which shows Maika Monroe reacting to Nicolas Cage’s grotesque appearance for the very first time.
