Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage does not like being called an ‘actor’ because he says it implies he is a great liar, and would prefer to be called a ‘thespian.’
The 57-year-old, who won an Oscar for his performance in Leaving Las Vegas, told the Variety Awards Circuit podcast that acting is akin to shamanism, in that you’re going into “flights of imagination.”
“I really don’t like the word actor because for me it always implies, ‘Oh, he’s a great actor, therefore he’s a great liar, and (great at) lying,'” he said.
“So with the risk of sounding like a pretentious a-hole, I like the word thespian because thespian means you’re going into your heart.
“Or you’re going into your imagination, or your memories or your dreams, and you’re bringing something back to communicate with the audience. I think it’s more like recruiting imagination.
