In the film Vampire’s Kiss, Nicolas Cage took one request involving a bat a little too far and it could have ended his life.

Via Hemdale Film Corporation

Is there anyone in Hollywood as fascinating as Nicolas Cage? The man’s been around forever, and whether he is making headlines with his 4-day marriage, being drunk in public, or being stalked by a mime, his personal life has kept things interesting in the media. Because of this, some of his moments on set have been overlooked.

Cage will push his limits to give a great performance, and at one point, the man was trying to be bitten by a live bat in a box office dud that somehow blossomed into a cult classic.

Let’s take a look at one of Nicolas Cage’s most bizarre stories yet.

Nicolas Cage Is An Eccentric Star

Nicolas Cage is easily one of the most eccentric performers in the history of Hollywood, and the actor, despite receiving plenty of critical acclaim throughout his career, has no issues with giving incredibly over-the-top performances each outing.

In spite of choosing some excellent roles and genuinely great films, Nicolas Cage has also showing that he is willing to take on virtually any project that interests him. These projects all range in size, but no matter the budget, fans can always expect the actor to give maximum effort when he is on screen. Because of this, people genuinely cannot get enough of the beloved performer.

This year, Nicolas Cage will be starring in a movie where he plays Nicolas Cage, and this is one project that people cannot wait for. It is going to be him at his most insane, and you had better believe that the Internet is going to be a blaze with hot takes when the movie finally drops.

Before that happens, we can take a look back at one of his most baffling movies, which has developed into a cult classic through the years.

He Starred In ‘Vampire’s Kiss’

In 1989, Vampire’s Kiss What was a brand new film featuring Nicolas Cage and Jennifer Beals, and the movie looked like absolute absurdity from the very beginning.

By that point in his career, Cage had already found success as an actor, notably with movies like Moonstruck and Raising Arizona. The new project had a tiny budget, and clearly, Nicolas Cage thought that he could do some great things with the utter absurdity of it all.

Now, Nicolas Cage is a movie star who is known for throwing every ounce of energy into every role that he takes on, and this movie is a perfect example of the chaotic energy that he can bring to a project. It did virtually nothing at the box office, but it turned into a cult hit, largely because of the wild performance that Nicolas Cage gives in the film.

One thing that has certainly helped this film maintain its cult status is the crazy events that unfolded behind the scenes. There are simply too many events to recount at once, but at one point, Nicolas Cage made an insane request that no movie studio in their right frame of mind would grant.

He Wanted A Real Bat To Bite Him In The Film

In what has to be one of the most bizarre stories involving Nicolas Cage, the young actor wanted to be bitten by a real bat while filming. Yes, he legitimately wanted this, and he was insistent on it happening.

According to producer Barbara Zitwer, “Shooting the bat drove him crazy. He didn’t understand why we couldn’t get a real bat. I tried to explain to him, they have rabies. You can’t control them. I did everything. I called the head bat specialist at the bat zoo. I was prepared to take him over there, bring the guy to the set.”

Even with this information in mind, Nicolas Cage still wasn’t convinced.

“Nicolas found out you could get bats from Mexico. Probably illegally, of course. We just said, ‘OK, this is going too far. We’re not gonna FedEx some bat from Mexico.’ Except I think they actually looked into it. That was one time that I recall being extremely contentious,” the producer said.

Eventually, they had to explain to him that he could, and fact, die if things were to go wrong with this little stunt. This is what eventually got the actor to back down and simply go along with what was originally intended.

Vampire’s Kiss is truly one of the most bizarre films in Nicholas Cage’s filmography, and it’s wild to think that things were somehow even crazier behind the scenes than the finished product of the movie itself was.