Why Nicolas Cage Didn't Want To Star In Moonstruck With Cher

Although "Moonstruck" helped propel Nicolas Cage to movie star status, he was underwhelmed when he was first approached to play the part of Ronny. "I read the screenplay to 'Moonstruck' and thought, 'I would never pay money to see this film!'" he told the Baltimore Sun in 1992. Over the years, the "Leaving Las Vegas" actor has been vocal about how unwilling he was to star in the 1987 movie. "I really didn't want to make that," Cage told The Guardian in 2013. "I did not want to be in a big splashy romantic comedy with Cher," he added.

Before agreeing to work alongside the famous singer, Cage was at odds with his agent — they had differing ideas on the direction his career should take. "I want you to look handsome! Do 'Moonstruck!'" the actor told USA Today in 2021 while recalling a conversation with his former agent. "I wanted to be punk rock — I didn't want to do a schmaltzy movie about opera," Cage said. Even though he had to be convinced to work on the rom-com, he was ultimately happy with the end result. "The truth is, I love 'Moonstruck.' Now that I'm older, I see the value in (it)," he told USA Today.

According to Cage, the only reason he finally agreed to work on "Moonstruck" was to convince his agent to allow him to film another project, which wound up being one of the actor's most eccentric performances to date.

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