Nicolas Cage watches famous scene from NATIONAL TREASURE and calls it “deeply ridiculous”, but “fascinating”

Nicolas Cage he has played many memorable and noteworthy characters throughout his career, and one of them is the adventurous historian, treasure hunter and cryptographer Benjamin Franklin Gates, from the action-adventure film, National treasure (2004). Almost twenty years have passed since the film’s release and Cage was able to watch a scene from the film for the first time in a recent video interview with Vanity Fair. He had a funny response to the scene where his character first says, “I’m going to steal the Declaration of Independence.”

Cage looked and said:

“How do you take something that is so profoundly ridiculous and actually try to sell it? What I really like about that scene, seeing it again for the first time in many years, is that I like the positivity of the character. He really believes it. He really reveres it. I think he’s charming.

He went on to add:

“I can’t even say that without laughing. It’s been meme’d so many times. It was “SNL.” But you can’t help but laugh! I think what makes it work is Justin’s seriousness [Bartha] and I’m taking it. If you play it for laughs, then it’s a zany, stupid comedy and not for me. That’s not where I’m at. The fact that we played it as dramatic actors makes it even funnier than it would have been if it had been slapstick. I think Jon Turteltaub shot it with love. He made it seem like the characters had great reverence and respect [for it] …like a sacred object. But punching him with “I’ll steal it” is so ridiculous that you can’t help but love it. It’s nice to see that scene again.”

I’m happy that Cage had a good experience watching that scene. That movie is very funny and it’s nice that he enjoyed it as a viewer. Cage seems to take his career very seriously most of the time, and I’m happy that he got to experience some of the joy that he brought to fans when he played that part.

via: Variety