Nicolas Cage Says He Was 'Probably' Not Paid For Oscar-winning Role In Leaving Las Vegas

In a career spanning over four decades, Nicolas Cage has earned himself two nominations when it comes to the prestigious Academy Awards. One of these, Cage has won, namely the Best Actor accolade from 1996 for his work in Leaving Las Vegas. The actor however, is not quite sure if he was paid for it or not.

Nicolas Cage cannot quite recall if he was paid for Leaving Las Vegas

For long, there has been chatter over Nicolas Cage potentially not having been paid for 1995 classic Leaving Las Vegas. In a podcast appearance for The Hollywood Reporter's It Happened In Hollywood, director Mike Figgis had shared, "They (studio Lumiere Pictures) said the film never went into profit" - something which might explain the situation at hand.

Speaking about his sum of $100,000 that he was supposed to receive for the film, Cage, during his appearance at the SXSW Film & TV Festival, affirmed how he "probably" did not receive it. Speaking to Business Insider, he said, "But I haven’t been thinking about it. I got to play a part that I absolutely had to play...There was no doubt in my mind that it would be an experience and a great movie. I wasn’t going to stop — whether they paid me or not, I was making the movie.”

Is Nicolas Cage retiring from acting?

During a December 2023 interview with Uproxx, Nicolas Cage got candid about his retirement plans. The reason shared by him for even considering it was to be able to retire on a high. He also expressed his desire to embrace a separate medium that would help satiate his drive for creativity. 

He said, "I feel that I’ve, at this point, after 45 years of doing this…I feel I’ve pretty much said what I’ve had to say with cinema. And I’d like to leave on a high note and say, ‘Adios.’ I think I have to do maybe three or four more movies before I can get there, and then hopefully switch formats and go into some other way of expressing my acting." The actor last featured in film Arcadian. He will soon be featuring in Longlegs and The Surfer.