Nicolas Cage Was Rejected By His Own Uncle for The Outsiders - CBR - Comic Book Resources
Actors' careers immensely benefit from family members already involved in the film industry, from Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman's daughter, Stranger Things star Maya Hawke, to Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet's daughter, The Batman's Zoë Kravitz. While some actors may have their doors opened by nepotism, Nicolas Cage can say he's been turned away by his uncle -- twice.
Cage's birth name is Nicolas Kim Coppola. The Coppolas are an Italian-American family of filmmakers, with Cage's uncle, acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola, at the forefront. Cage rose to prominence for his Academy Award-winning performance in the 1995 film Leaving Las Vegas. Although, he would have entered the spotlight several years before if his uncle hadn't rejected him for The Outsiders and The Godfather Part III.
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The 1983 coming-of-age drama The Outsiders is an adaptation of S.E. Hinton's 1967 novel with the same title. Coppola served as the director, and many future big names in Hollywood made up the cast, like Ralph Macchio before The Karate Kid and Patrick Swayze before Road House. The film follows Ponyboy Curtis and the intense rivalry between the Socs and the Greasers in 1960s Oklahoma.
Since The Outsiders was released, the film has gained a cult following, as the novel has become part of many students' assigned reading. Although, the cast almost looked a little different. Cage auditioned to play Dally Winston, one of Ponyboy's reckless friends, who eventually dies when he points an unloaded gun at the cops. According to IMDb, Cage took a method acting approach to prepare by locking himself in his room for two weeks and staring at a picture of a classic film star, Charles Bronson, to imitate his attitude.
After all his hard work, Coppola didn't cast Cage as Dally, and the part went to Matt Dillon instead. Dillon also starred in two more films based on Hinton's novels -- Tex and Coppola's Rumble Fish. After Cage didn't get the part he wanted, Coppola offered him the role of Keith "Two-Bit" Matthews, another Greaser. Cage turned the part down, and Coppola cast Emilio Estevez instead.
While Cage didn't receive a major role in The Outsiders, he actually made a small cameo in the film as a rival gang member during the rumble scene. In addition to Cage, Coppola's daughter Sofia makes a brief appearance as the girl who asks the Greasers for 15 cents. She is credited under the name "Domino" in the cast list.
While being rejected for The Outsiders must have been hurtful, that wasn't the last time Cage's own uncle turned him away. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cage begged Coppola to cast him as Vincent Corleone in The Godfather Part III. "I really think I ought to be in your movie, Uncle," Cage revealed. "I think I could play this part... that was a movie I didn't get let in that I really wanted to be in." Coppola sent his nephew home again and cast The Untouchables star Andy García in the role. Ouch, talk about a burn!
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