Nicolas Cage Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor, director and producer. During his early career, Cage starred in a variety of films such as "Valley Girl" (1983), "Racing with the Moon" (1984), "Birdy" (1984), "Peggy Sue Got Married" (1986), "Raising Arizona" (1987), "Moonstruck" (1987), "Vampire's Kiss" (1989), "Wild at Heart" (1990), "Fire Birds" (1990), "Honeymoon in Vegas" (1992), and "Red Rock West" (1993). Cage received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance as an alcoholic Hollywood writer in "Leaving Las Vegas" (1995) before
Francis Ford Coppola the movie. He had been friends with Robin Williams for many years and had always wanted to work with him as an actor. When Williams was offered the screenplay for "Jack", he said he would only agree to do it if Coppola agreed to sign on as director. The last film Coppola directed in the 90s, "The Rainmaker", was based on the 1995 novel of the same name by John Grisham. An ensemble courtroom drama, the film was well received by critics, earning an 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Roger Ebert gave "The Rainmaker" three stars out of four, remarking: