Nicolas Cage began his acting career with a bit part (which was ultimately mostly cut out) in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. He followed the film with roles in Rumble Fish and Valley Girl. After several other parts in movies, including Moonstruck and Raising Arizona, he began to make a name for himself and also became known as one of Hollywood's quirkiest actors.
Twelve years and twenty films after being called a promising new actor, Cage accepted an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his role as Ben, a man who goes to Las Vegas to drink himself to death in Leaving Las Vegas. Ben summed up his relationship with Sera (Elisabeth Shue) with the simple and memorable line, "I am drunk, and you're a hooker. I want you to know I am a person who is totally at ease with this."
Cage's portrayal of Ben, as many of his other role choices, caused a lot of commotion and commentary. In reference to some of his earlier choices, he explained to US Magazine, "I was doing whatever to be shocking and challenging to the whole system of what was Hollywood at the time. I didn't care. I wanted to be a punk rocker. In an attitude, I kind of ostracized myself from any semblance of somebody who would want to be a star or hero."
Yet, Cage became an onscreen hero in three intense action films: The Rock, Con Air, and Face Off. Each of these fast paced hits contains unforgettable words spoken by the characters Nicolas Cage portrays.
In The Rock, Stanley Goodspeed, a mild mannered FBI agent explains, "Well, I'm one of those fortunate people who like my job, sir. Got my first chemistry set when I was seven, blew my eyebrows off, we never saw the cat again, been into it ever since." He also speaks like a true action star, "I love pressure. I eat it for breakfast." The words that audiences truly cannot forget are those spoken in an exchange with John Mason (played by Sean Connery):
