Nicolas Cage has legally changed his name
Spider-Noir actor Nicolas Cage has explained why he changed his name - insisting he didn't want to be known as the "clown cousin" of Hollywood's Coppola family.
Nicolas Cage legally changed his name last year.
The Spider-Noir star was born Nicolas Coppola but he adopted the name Cage at the start of his career because he wanted to distance himself from his famous relatives including his uncle, esteemed director Francis Ford Coppola, because he didn't want to be known as the "clown cousin" of Hollywood's Coppola family.
Now Cage has revealed he finally made the change legal in 2025, telling Variety: "I am Nick Cage. I changed my name legally last year.
"I’m Nick Cage in life, and I’m Nick Cage on camera. ‘Tis better to be the patriarch of my own little family than the clown cousin on the margins of someone else’s, so I decided I’m going to bring it on and be Cage".
Cage went on to explain he picked his last name after being inspired by comic book character Luke Cage and he revealed he wanted a name that was "short and sweet" like James Dean.
He added: "Cage is a name that I liked coming across in the comics - I just thought he had a cool name - and I grew up in a very avant-garde, artsy family and there was talk about [composer/artist] John Cage and the experimental compositions that he did.
"I was looking for something like James Dean; I was looking for something short and sweet."
Cage went on to explain why he kept the first name Nicolas and embraced the spelling.
He said: "I thought, well, I’ll keep the name Nicolas because my father named me Nicolas - with French spelling, which has always frustrated me, because everyone adds an h.
"I don’t know why he gave me the French spelling! But he did."
When asked if the thinks the name Nick Cage sounds "like a superhero", Cage replied: "I think so. You think I should’ve shaved it off and just made it Nick
"I’m both! I think people know me as both."
Cage previously opened up about his adopted name in an interview with Wired in 2022 explaining he didn't enjoy being compared to his famous director uncle.
He told the outlet: "I decided, I don't need this, and I changed it to Cage. It's a combination of Luke Cage from Marvel Comics ... and John Cage, the avant-garde composer. Speaks volumes about what I've been up to ever since."
