While filming the 1988 black horror comedy Vampire’s Kiss, Nicolas Cage made a bold (and stomach-turning) decision. His character, Peter Loew, a delusional literary critic who believed he was a vampire, originally had a scene where he was supposed to eat a raw egg. But Cage had other ideas. “I thought eating a cockroach would be more effective,” he told Yahoo Entertainment. “I’ll never do that again. I’m sorry I did it at all.”
That wasn’t a one-take horror. He had to do it twice. Twice the crunch. Twice the regret. Vampire’s Kiss, directed by Robert Bierman, wasn’t exactly a smash hit. Despite Cage’s mind-boggling performance and a cult following, the film tanked at the box office. It did, however, cement Cage’s reputation for fully committing to roles – sometimes to extremes.
The cast incorporated María Conchita Alonso, Jennifer Beals, and Elizabeth Ashley, but Cage’s bug-eating stunt stole the show. The scene even became one of the most infamous moments in his career. Years later, Nicolas Cage returned to vampire territory in Renfield, this time as the legendary Count Dracula. Directed by Chris McKay, the 2023 horror comedy starred Nicholas Hoult as R. M. Renfield, Dracula’s reluctant servant trying to break free from his boss’s grip.
Hoult’s Renfield spent centuries bringing Dracula fresh victims – including nuns and cheerleaders – before deciding he’d had enough. The film also featured Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz, Adrian Martinez, and Shohreh Aghdashloo. Unlike Vampire’s Kiss, Renfield had bigger expectations. But despite Nicolas Cage’s wild and theatrical Dracula, the film received mixed reviews. It landed at 58% on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics split on its execution.
Still, Cage’s take on the bloodthirsty icon delivered the kind of unhinged energy that only he could pull off. As for the cockroach incident? That one still haunts him. Even decades later, Nicolas Cage made it clear: once was bad enough. Twice was a nightmare. And there won’t be a third time.
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