Comic fan Nicolas Cage nearly played Superman on the big screen, but IRL he nearly bought a Batcave.
The comic-collecting Oscar winner, who portrayed Ghost Rider in two films and a version of Spider-Man in Into the Spider-Verse, revealed to Jimmy Kimmel on Wednesday night that he almost purchased a real-life version of Batman’s hideout.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent star, marking his first time on a talk show in 14 years, played along while Kimmel tried to dispel rumors about the mercurial actor.
“We were in North Dakota, in the Black Hills, when we were shooting one of the [National] Treasure movies,” Cage said. “I said, ‘I hear there’s a cave for sale, let’s go look at it.'”
Instead of wanting to use it as a headquarters to fight crime, however, Cage recalled having a different plan, thinking, “‘I’d like to buy this and just get totally naked with my wife and drink nigori [sake] in the bottom of the cave in the earth.”
Also differing from the Caped Crusader’s crash pad, there were no bats in the cave, said Cage, who resisted the urge to buy it.
The actor also confirmed that he once spent a night in Dracula’s castle, and that he’d been stalked by mimes.
In addition, Cage relayed a story about an incredible hot streak while gambling in the Bahamas. Cage turned $200 at the roulette table into $20,000, which he then put into the hands of the headmistress of an orphanage he visited there. “And I never gambled again,” Cage said, fearing he’d never be able to recapture the magic.
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