Has Nicolas Cage gone batty?
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent star, 58, opened up about bat cave rumors and more during a visit to Jimmy Kimmel Live! on April 20. The appearance marked Cage's first time on a talk show in 14 years—and, let's just say, it was well worth the wait.
After receiving a tip from Cage's National Treasure co-star Diane Kruger, host Jimmy Kimmel asked Cage if he had ever owned a bat cave. Spoiler alert: He hasn't, but he had considered purchasing a cave for one very NSFW reason.
"At the time, I was married," he shared, referencing his previous marriage to Alice Kim. (The actor has since married Riko Shibata and the couple is expecting their first child together.) Then, he thought, "I'd like to buy this and just go down in the bottom of the cave and get totally naked with my wife and drink."
The actor said his fascination with caves began when he became interested in "exploring all the elements."
"I got my [diving] certificate on the Great Barrier Reef; I explored the element of water. Air, I didn't really get as far as I wanted to. I wanted to be a hang glider; it didn't happen," he said. "Fire, I felt like [in the movie] Ghost Rider, I had explored the element of fire. Then, I wanted to explore Earth."
He got the idea to take up cave exploration when he learned that one nearby was on the market. "We were in North Dakoka, in the Black Hills, when we were shooting one of the Treasure movies," Cage noted. "I said, ‘I hear there's a cave for sale, let's go look at it.'"
The cave, according to Cage, was filled with "stalactites," "milky quartz" and "crystalline walls" that instantly caught his attention and inspired his nude fantasy.
Unfortunately, while it was a beautiful dream, it didn't come true. "Needless to say, I didn't buy the cave," he said. "And there were no bats."
But the incredible stories didn't stop there. Cage also confirmed the legend that he once turned $200 into $20,000 while playing roulette at the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas.
"I did it in about half an hour," he recalled. "I went to the roulette table and I just know I had every number I chose—and I often would choose the same number—it kept winning."
Describing the moment as true "magic," the actor shared that he couldn't let the good "mojo" he felt go to waste and paid it forward.
"The next day, I said, ‘You know, this is so special.'" He said. "I went and found an orphanage, met all of the children, and I said to the headmistress, ‘This is for you.' Put down $20,000 cash in her hand and I never gambled again."