Nicolas Cage Drops His Birth Name

What is the actor called now?

Hollywood actor Nicolas Cage has officially given up his birth surname. From now on, the star is legally known as Nicolas Cage, although he was born Nicolas Kim Coppola.

The 62-year-old Oscar winner revealed this in an interview with Variety. According to the actor, he decided to formally change his name last year.

As is well known, Nicolas is the nephew of legendary director Francis Ford Coppola and the cousin of filmmaker Sofia Coppola. However, early in his career, he deliberately distanced himself from his famous surname in order to succeed on his own, without relying on his family connections.

“Now I am Nick Cage both in life and on screen. It’s better to be the head of your own small family than a clownish cousin on the sidelines of someone else’s,” the actor explained.

He did not choose the surname Cage by accident. He was inspired by the Marvel comic book character Luke Cage. The actor also mentioned that avant-garde composer John Cage was often referenced in his family. Nicolas himself admitted that he was looking for a short, memorable name—something in the style of James Dean.

The actor also shared the story behind his first name. According to him, his father deliberately named him Nicolas in the French spelling without the letter “h,” although this always bothered him slightly.

“I don’t know why he decided to spell it that way. But that’s just how it happened,” the actor joked.

At the same time, the star insists that he is comfortable with both versions of his name—Nick or Nicolas: “I am both Nick and Nicolas. I think people know me by both names.”