Nicolas Cage describes '90s persona as an 'obnoxious, arrogant, irreverent, mad man'

Nicolas Cage is a changed man since the days when he took drugs with his cat.

The 58-year-old actor became notable in the 1990s for his erratic behaviour - which included taking magic mushrooms with his feline friend and spending his multimillion-dollar fortune on haunted houses - and although he is now playing a satirical version of himself in upcoming movie The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent, admitted that he is glad to have left that "obnoxious" persona behind in real life.

He said: "I looked at an old interview I did on the Wogan show where I was front handspringing. I was promoting Wild At Heart, doing karate kicks, throwing money out at the audience, and I thought, 'That guy is a really obnoxious, arrogant, irreverent, mad man - and I think he needs to be in this movie.'"

The National Treasure star was referencing his infamous chat show entrance from over 30 years ago - which saw him bare his chest to host Terry Wogan - and went on to explain that he is "nothing like that person" anymore and joked that these days he prefers to read with his cat.

He told The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent's writer and director Tom Gormican: "That was Nic in 1990 and I'm so glad I'm nothing like that person anymore. But I was happy to bring him back. Actually, I have really quiet moments at home, reading with my cat. Don't you want to put in anything like that?"

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