Nicolas Cage Gained 25 Pounds Eating Pasta to Play John Madden — Then Added 30 More in Prosthetics
Nicolas Cage went all in — pasta, sourdough and all — to become John Madden.
The 62-year-old actor plays NFL legend John Madden in the biopic Madden, and he told PEOPLE at the Los Angeles premiere on Wednesday, Nov. 4 — where he walked the red carpet with wife Riko Shibata — that he gained 25 pounds for the role.
“I just enjoyed my pasta and my sourdough bread, which I don’t normally do,” Cage said.
His normal routine is a lot stricter: “Two Premier Protein shakes and one meal a day. It’s usually a Caesar salad.”
So for Madden, the pasta was back on the menu — and Cage clearly enjoyed every bite of the transformation.
Why the Other 30 Pounds Came From Prosthetics
Cage didn’t try to gain all 60 pounds himself. At 62, he said gaining 60 pounds would be dangerous, so the other 30 pounds came from prosthetics.
It was a hybrid approach like the one used on The Whale. He worked with makeup artist Adrien Morot, who did Brendan Fraser’s Oscar-winning transformation in The Whale.
The result: Cage got the size and presence of Madden without putting his health at risk to get there.
Now He’s Slimming Back Down
Cage is already working the weight back off — and his method is just as committed as the pasta phase.
“A lot of days in the gym on the elliptical. I’m always on the elliptical for a couple of hours a day,” he said.
Who’s in Madden?
Madden is directed by David O. Russell. Christian Bale plays Raiders owner Al Davis. The film also stars Kathryn Hahn, Sienna Miller, John Mulaney and Shane Gillis.
The film follows Madden’s Super Bowl-winning run coaching the Raiders, his second act as a beloved broadcaster, and the creation of the Madden NFL video game. Madden died in December 2021 at age 85.
Madden opens in select theaters Nov. 11 and streams globally on Prime Video Nov. 18.
Photo: Nicolas Cage. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
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