Wonder Woman 1984’s Pedro Pascal Clarifies How Nic Cage Influenced Him
Pedro Pascal, who plays Maxwell Lord in Wonder Woman 1984, has explained his reasoning behind citing Nic Cage as his primary influence for the role. Pascal has become somewhat of an acting icon this year with his performance in the incredibly popular The Mandalorian, among other roles. Now, fans are looking forward to seeing how he performs in other films, like the upcoming Wonder Woman sequel.
Pascal cited actor Nic Cage among his influences for his Wonder Woman 1984 role. The Academy Award-winning actor Cage has had an incredibly varied career starring in comedies and dramas and recently has even made indie horror films like the ‘80’s-inspired Mandy. Since Cage has had such a wide-reaching acting career, it’s a little unclear what aspect of that career Pascal is drawing on for his Maxwell Lord performance.
In an interview with Uproxx, Pascal explains why he sees Nic Cage as an inspiration for his Wonder Woman 1984 character. He makes a point to clarify that though he feels his Maxwell Lord performance is a bit cheesy, he doesn’t think it's the same level as Cage’s acting. Pascal states that looking at Cage's work was an excellent way to center himself and prepare for the role. Pascal references some of his favorite early Nic Cage movies, like Peggy Sue Got Married, Racing With The Moon, Valley Girl, Moonstruck, Vampire’s Kiss, Raising Arizona, and Rumble Fish.
“I don’t relate any of the hamming it up to Nicolas Cage. I -- at one point in the conversation I was talking about what an incredible influence he was on me as an actor, which is true. And, now, so much so that I would use him as a sort of point of reference to anchor myself, to achieve something in a scene specifically with Wonder Woman, And maybe about a half-hour later in that conversation, I was self-deprecating and accusing myself of “shmacting” and hamming it up, and the two do not go together.”
Pascal’s method for this film was successful since early reviews of Wonder Woman 1984 praise the movie as a beautiful follow-up to the DC hero’s first film. The majority of these reviews mention the skill of director Patty Jenkins and lead actress Gal Gadot, but many of the reviews also cite Pascal’s performance in particular. Viewers say that the level of ham he brings to his character of Maxwell Lord makes the movie that much more fun to watch.
While Pascal may insist that the ham is all him, it’s clear that the early works of Nic Cage continue to remain important to him and influence his acting to this day. And even if Pascal’s performance is a bit cheesy and over the top, fans seem to be delighted by the result. If it means making Wonder Woman 1984 even more enjoyable, audiences will take all the Nic Cage-inspired ham they can get.
Source: Uproxx