Lifelong Cat Lover Nicolas Cage Says Merlin the Cat is ‘Best Friend’ and ‘Like a Son’

Nicolas Cage has a surreal experience playing multiple versions of himself, including a “neurotic version” in the action-comedy ‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.’ 

“I think that would’ve been fascinating to see someone else play me, which was my first suggestion but they didn’t want to go for that,” joked Cage in a GQ interview. “They said they had to have the real me, whatever that means.”

So, who is the real Nick Cage? When asked by the Hollywood Reporter, he indicates he’s a family man who enjoys spending quiet time with his cat.

“I have a lot of quiet moments at home with just my cat, reading. Do we want to show any of that? No, because it’s not fun,” he said.

Aside from being known for his unbearably massive talent, the actor is famous for an untold number of hilariously strange memes ever-present on the internet. Often, many of these memes feature the actor’s face on a cat or feature cats thought to look like the actor.

Cats With Nicolas Cage’s Facehttps://t.co/nEixOqobdJ pic.twitter.com/QQZIcZkZIE

— 9GAG (@9GAG) February 27, 2017

Why is my cat Nicolas Cage?  pic.twitter.com/AnWZNhwuNo

— My Cull (@mikaltempo) June 10, 2021

My friends cat looks like Nicolas Cage pic.twitter.com/zEnXnNBASC

— Cavity Minecraft (@rottencavity) December 20, 2020

Nicolas Cage at Home with His Cat

In a *Variety* interview, Cage briefly mentioned his cat again. Director Tom Gormican’s vision for the actor was based on the idea that “neurotic Nick Cage is the best Nick Cage.”

“So [Tom] would push me more into those realms of mania and anxiety, which is fun,” said Cage. “It was fun, but I would say that’s not really me when I’m at home with my cat. But, that’s not as much fun.”

“I stand by my claim that neurotic Cage is the best Cage,” replied Gormican.

Video by Variety:

Nicolas Cage’s Best Friend is Merlin the Cat

Recently, the iconic actor answered fan questions while doing press for the new film, including, “Who’s your best friend?”

His answer: His cat Merlin, a gorgeous black Maine Coon who Cage adopted in 2017. 

“He’s an unusual cat, he’s very affectionate, he loves contact,” Cage said.

Merlin, image: Facebook

Going further, the actor revealed that Merlin would sometimes “hug” him in bed. When that happens, he said he sometimes mistakes the cat for his wife, actress Riko Shibata. Notably, the two are expecting their first human child together.