I could have died…’: Nicolas Cage opens up about harrowing surfing experience

WASHINGTON: Nicolas Cage had a harrowing experience while training for his new film, ‘The Surfer’, which is now in theatres.

According to Variety, the actor nearly encountered a shark and got stuck in a rip tide while surfing, an experience he described as potentially life-threatening. Cage revealed that his surfing lessons were more challenging than he anticipated.

Despite having some experience with surfing, he struggled to navigate the waves and was eventually “pounded to smithereens”. He recounted the terrifying moment when he got stuck in a rip tide, saying, “I’m climbing up the leash as I’m somersaulting, and I could have died”, as quoted by Variety.

Nicolas Cage gets gnarly as a man pushed to the edge in THE SURFER, a trippy psychological thriller that tackles toxic masculinity.

Playing from Fri 9 May!
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— GFT (@glasgowfilm) May 2, 2025

The close call has left Cage reevaluating his priorities, especially now that he has a young child. “Now I have a young kid, I don’t know if I want to do it anymore”, he said, as quoted by Variety. However, he hasn’t ruled out surfing entirely, joking that his goal is to “retire, surf, drink red wine and eat spaghetti.”

‘The Surfer’ explores themes of obsession, trauma, and the human psyche. Cage plays a businessman who becomes fixated on buying back his childhood home in Australia, only to face resistance from a group of mysterious bullies. (ANI)