Nicolas Cage was first offered and accepted the role of Randy “The Ram” Robinson in the movie “The Wrestler” before finally rejecting the lead role of the steroid-using grappler. The highly-regarded method actor implied that he quit the role because he was not willing to use anabolic steroids and make the physical transformation necessary for a believable performance as a professional wrestler. Director Darren Aronofsky gave the role to Mickey Rourke whose stunning performance (and physique) earned him a Golden Globe award and Oscar nomination (”Nicolas Cage: I Wasn’t ‘Dropped’ From ‘The Wrestler’,” March 11).
Access Hollywood caught up with Nicolas at the premiere of his new movie, “Knowing,” Monday night in New York, where the actor cleared up recent rumors that he was let go from the Darren Aronofsky-directed project.
“I wasn’t quote ‘dropped’ from the movie,” the 45-year-old actor told Access. “I resigned from the movie because I didn’t think I had enough time to achieve the look of the wrestler who was on steroids, which I would never do.”
Nicolas Cage was once known for an intense passion for method acting that took the technique to an entirely new level. His adamant refusal to use steroids for a movie role may suggest that Nicolas Cage’s method acting madness is part of his past.
To be a good actor you have to be something like a criminal,” Cage once remarked, “to be willing to break the rules to strive for something new…”
Nicolas Cage’s statements on steroids imply, purposefully or not, that Mickey Rourke must have used steroids for the role.
