Nicolas Cage has spoken out about the grueling physical toll of bulking up to portray NFL icon John Madden.
The 62-year-old actor, who stars in the upcoming biopic *Madden*, said at the film’s premiere alongside wife Riko Shibata that he packed on 25 pounds for the role through a strict regimen he found anything but enjoyable. “I just enjoyed my pasta and my sourdough bread, which I don’t normally do,” Cage said. “I mean, it’s pretty brutal. Two premier protein shakes and one meal a day. It’s usually a Caesar salad.”
Despite the demanding diet, Cage drew a hard line at gaining the full 60 pounds needed to match Madden’s frame. “But with that, I got to enjoy the pasta and then I added — look, I’m 62, so I’m not going to gain 60 pounds. That’s dangerous,” he explained. “But I added the other 30 with [prosthetics].”
To bridge the gap, Cage collaborated with prosthetics and makeup artist Adrien Morot, whose previous credits include Brendan Fraser’s Oscar-winning transformation in *The Whale*. “It was the same approach, a hybrid approach,” Cage shared. “That was, to me, the sweet spot.”
Shedding the weight afterward proved even more punishing than the gain. When asked if the pounds dropped off easily, Cage replied, “not really,” adding: “A lot of days in the gym on the elliptical. I still do it. I’m always on the elliptical for a couple of hours a day.”
The role marked a deep dive into a world far removed from Cage’s own interests. “I knew nothing about him before I started working on the picture,” he admitted. “That wasn’t where my interest was. Football was not my interest. Sports was not my interest.” What drew him in was the challenge itself. “But I saw in him an opportunity for transformation of sorts because he was so far out of my comfort zone that I thought, ‘Well, this is a risk and I want to go for it.'”
Through his research, Cage discovered what he called the root of Madden’s character. “When I realized that the root of John Madden was his love for life and his high energy and his sense of humor, and that he was a teacher first and foremost, because that was what meant the most to him,” the actor recounted. The connection resonated personally. “When I realized that that is what John was, a teacher first, I grew to love him even more,” Cage continued, noting that his own father had worked as a teacher.
The film traces the life of the beloved coach and broadcaster, who died in 2021 at 85. Cage leads an ensemble that includes Christian Bale as former Raiders owner Al Davis, who died in 2011 at 82, Kathryn Hahn as Madden’s wife Virginia Fields, and Sienna Miller as Davis’ wife Carol Sagal. John Mulaney appears as Trip Hawkins, the Electronic Arts founder whose partnership with Madden spawned the legendary video game franchise.
The biopic is scheduled to stream on Prime Video beginning November 18.