Nicolas Cage has opened up about his near-death experience on Aussie shores during production of his latest film.
The actor will be starring in The Surfer, where he plays an anonymous businessman who returns to his native Australia to buy his childhood beach house.
However, when he is humiliated in front of his teenage son by a group of local surfers who claim ownership over his home, a psychological battle ensues and unfolds on screen.
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The film earned a six-minute standing ovation at its premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, with critics claiming it a “cult movie in the making”.
The 61-year-old was required to take surfing lessons for the role, in particular the last scene which shows off his death-defying skills.
But said skills were difficult to obtain for the veteran actor, who shot the entire film in Yallingup, Western Australia.
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He told Entertainment Weekly “We had weather conditions and believe it or not, shark reports and things, all that shit.”
“I have surfed, but every time I’ve attempted surfing, I’ve been pounded to smithereens. I surfed down on Sunset Beach. When I was trying to learn, my teacher gave me a shortboard. I said, ‘Look, I want a longboard.”‘
But changing boards didn’t help the National Treasure star. “I just got pounded and literally got stuck in the rip tide, and they said they saw my board, they call it ‘tombstone,’ like that triangle top,” he told the outlet, miming the board sticking out of the water.
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Papparazzi shots during filming showed that surfing truly is not the star’s strong suit, with every picture featuring a wipeout.
“I’m climbing up the leash as I’m somersaulting, and I could have died,” he shared, “Now I have a young kid, I don’t know if I want to do it anymore.”
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