(Credits: Far Out / BBC Archive)
Sun 7 September 2025 15:45, UK
Nicolas Cage is perhaps the most memeified actor in motion picture history.
Long before virality and trending snippets, it seems as though he had a keen eye for creating little cinematic moments that would live long in the memory. For instance, is there anyone who hasn’t seen his Wicker Man remake and not found themselves yelling “the beeeees” at one point or another thereafter?
Simply put, he’s not a star who is prepared to let a scene go to waste. He seizes upon the out of the ordinary like a bee seizes upon an abandoned ice lolly. But this is done with the intention of imparting actorly entertainment, not to become a YouTube compilation or a T-shirt. This made him the perfect person to play Paul Matthews in The Dream Scenario.
Matthews is not necessarily your typical Cage character. He may well be the most boring person that the screaming thespian has ever portrayed. But he does find himself thrust into the spotlight after he randomly begins appearing in people’s dreams the world over, at first, just like a mere meme of the subconscious. Then, an arc of seeking fame that leads to infamy follows.
So, while the character might be a milquetoast ordinary man, the way he is seduced by an opportunity to be more than that provides a decidedly Cage-ian twist to Matthew. He relished this opportunity, not only calling the script one of the five best he had ever read, but he also dubbed the movie a “masterpiece” and said it may well be the best he has ever been in.
Speaking to IMDb about the A24 release back in 2023, Cage commented, “With Kristoffer [Borgli, director and writer], the director, I felt that he was operating on a level that nothing needed to be added, taken away, or altered. I think it helps that he’s an editor, so he was in the editing room, and he was cutting it all together.”
Given the choppy nature of the movie, flitting between wild dreams, banal family life, and a sinister, Kafkaesque slide, there was a lot to try and tie together, too. Cage thinks that this was done in such a masterful way that it pretty much pioneered a revolutionary style. The Gone in 60 Seconds star continued, “The rhythm, the sort of hopscotching between scenes that coalesced was, in my view, brand-new.”
“I use the word masterpiece because I’ve never seen anything else like it,” Cage added. “And for me, it was no acting, please.”
The reason he makes this assertion is because he has been in Matthew’s shoes, seeing his life become a public plaything beyond his control. The film carefully constructed the crooked analogy that once you start to dabble with ‘fame’, you somewhat relinquish control over your existence: you become part man, part meme.
Cage was more than familiar with that process and thought that the role allowed him to bring real authenticity to the table. Thusly, what you’re left with in his view is a pioneering piece of cinema, led by a believable star, that presents something pertinent about modern society, in a manner that you might never have seen before.
With that in mind, it’s not all that difficult to see why Cage views it as his golden “masterpiece”. While that claim might’ve also helped to sell a few tickets, it’s hard to doubt that this was his genuine perspective on the black comedy, given how relatable he found the whole spiralling skit, and how inspired he was by Borgli’s unique way of presenting a modern day tragedy that he knew all too well.
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