Nicolas Cage Fears A.I. Could Steal His Identity

Nicholas Cage seems quite anxious about the future, particularly when it comes to artificial intelligence.

According to Deadline, in a recent interview with The New Yorker, the actor, who stars in the upcoming movie Longlegs, got candid about his concerns for his posthumous digital presence.

His anxiety heightened when a publicist interrupted their discussion to inform him of an upcoming scan he was scheduled for. This moment took the interview in a fascinating direction.

“I have to slip out after this to go get a scan done for the show and then also for the movie I’m doing after the show,” Cage explained. “Two scans in one day!”

He was referring to a scan for the upcoming Spider-Man Noir. He continued to elaborate on the process.

“Well, they have to put me in a computer and match my eye color and change — I don’t know,” he said. “They’re just going to steal my body and do whatever they want with it via digital A.I….God, I hope not A.I. I’m terrified of that. I’ve been very vocal about it.”

“And it makes me wonder, you know, where will the truth of the artists end up?” he pondered. “Is it going to be replaced? Is it going to be transmogrified? Where’s the heartbeat going to be? I mean, what are you going to do with my body and my face when I’m dead? I don’t want you to do anything with it!”

In a more subdued part of the interview, Cage also shared his thoughts on various acting styles.

“Well, you know, acting has gone through phases of what is considered great,” the Family Man star noted. “And it’s been around for a long time. Somewhere along the way we got obsessed with the nineteen-seventies naturalism style of film performance, which is good. Look at Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver or Jon Voight in Midnight Cowboy — it’s great. But that’s not all acting can be. It can go even further back to the Billy Wilder movies and the kind of repartee that these actors had, like Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney. That’s something I’m curious to bring back. To me, it’s all different styles. And why not try a little bit of everything? Why get stuck?”

When asked about new trends and his enthusiasm for contemporary performances, Cage said, “I think that there have been remarkable performances. I don’t know if it’s new, per se, or a kind of recycling or return to an older style where people are less afraid to express themselves in a larger format. They’re breaking free from ‘If it’s quiet and minimal, it’s great.’ They can liberate themselves and use their voices and gesture and go bigger. I’ve seen it in different actors — for me, Cate Blanchett certainly reminds me of the Golden Age vanguard style of film performance as well.”

Catch Nicholas Cage in Longlegs when it hits theaters on July 12.

Source: Deadline, The New Yorker