Oscar-winning actor Nicolas Cage is officially no longer a Coppola on paper. After using his famous stage moniker for over four decades to avoid Hollywood nepotism claims, the actor finalized the legal paperwork to change his last name to Cage in 2025. The revelation comes straight from Cage himself as he hits the press circuit for his new Prime Video live-action series, Spider-Noir.
Cage explained the long-delayed legal move in a recent Variety interview. He made it clear he wanted permanent distance from the heavy expectations attached to his legendary uncle Francis Ford Coppola and cousin Sofia Coppola. He admitted he was tired of feeling like the odd one out in the dynasty. He stated bluntly that he didn’t want the stigma of being the “clown cousin on the margins of someone else’s” family, adding that he prefers to be the patriarch of his own little family.
The stage name itself has been with him since 1983, right around the time he broke out in Valley Girl. He pulled “Cage” from a mix of Marvel’s Luke Cage and avant-garde composer John Cage, looking for something short and punchy like James Dean. While he finally fixed the last name on his government documents, he kept his first name. He still voices lifelong frustration with the French spelling of Nicolas, according to the Times of India, noting that people constantly try to sneak an “h” into it.
Making the paperwork official serendipitously aligns with his current promotional tour. Cage is starring as Ben Reilly in the upcoming Spider-Noir, bringing his career full circle back to the comic book inspirations that gave him his iconic name in the first place.