Born Nicholas Coppola on Jan. 7, 1964, in Long Beach, Calif., he later changed his name to gain a show business identity independent of his famous uncle, director Francis Ford Coppola. The new surname resulted from his admiration of avant-garde composer John Cage and comic book hero Luke Cage. After his parents divorced when he was 12, he and his brothers lived with their father. Cage first discovered a passion for acting while taking a summer course at the American Conservatory Theater. Unhappy in high school, he decided to take an equivalency test instead of graduating and try his luck at an acting career.

Cage landed a part in the short-lived television series The Best of Times (1980). He was to have made his big-screen debut in the film ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High' (1982), but virtually all of his scenes ended up on the cutting-room floor. After starring as an intriguing punk in the teen movie ‘Valley Girl' (1983), his career gained momentum. In addition to ‘Rumble Fish' (1983), ‘The Cotton Club' (1984), and ‘Peggy Sue Got Married' (1986), all directed by his uncle, Cage appeared in the wartime romance ‘Racing with the Moon' (1984) and Joel and Ethan Coen's comedy ‘Raising Arizona' (1987).

Two of Cage's most critically acclaimed movies of the 1980s were ‘Birdy' (1984) and ‘Moonstruck' (1987). ‘Birdy', a story of two friends who return from Vietnam with emotional and physical problems, won the Jury prize at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival. A devoted proponent of method acting at the time, Cage had his wisdom teeth removed without receiving Novocaine to better play the part of someone with severe facial disfigurement. In ‘Moonstruck', Cage starred opposite Academy award-winner Cher as a kooky romantic who falls in love with his brother's fiancée.

Cage received both an Academy award and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of an alcoholic resigned to dying in ‘Leaving Las Vegas' (1995). Many of his other films of the 1990s were comedies, including ‘Honeymoon in Vegas' (1992), ‘Amos and Andrew' (1993), ‘Guarding Tess' (1994), and ‘It Could Happen to You' (1994). He also appeared in the twisted romance ‘Wild at Heart' (1990), which received the Palme d'Or at Cannes; ‘Deadfall' (1993), which his brother Christopher directed; and the film noir ‘Red Rock West' (1993). One of his top box-office successes was the action drama ‘The Rock' (1996), in which he starred with Sean Connery. In 1995, Cage married actress Patricia Arquette.