Nicolas Cage bought a two-headed snake for $80,000 after 'having dreams about two-headed eagles'


Rarely does a profile of Nicolas Cage disappoint, and the latest from GQ is no exception.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent star chatted with GQ about his career, embracing being a meme, and ... dropping tens of thousands of dollars on a two-headed snake.
"I was having dreams about two-headed eagles," Cage said. "And then the next day, somebody calls me and says, 'Oh, I have a two-headed snake you might be interested in buying.' And I'm dreaming about two-headed eagles. And it costs like 80 grand. I said, 'I'll do it. Here, I'll take it.'"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But Cage apparently got more than he bargained for. He later had to get rid of the snake, as needing to "put a spatula between the two heads" to give "them two different mice and let them eat separately" became "too much for me to handle." Cage donated the snake to New Orleans' Audubon Zoo in 2008, and it died in 2021.
Cage previously mentioned his snake friend in Interview Magazine, recalling how he brought it out at a party and "everybody was freaked out by it." He also noted director Werner Herzog wanted to put the snake in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, but Cage refused, declaring, "No, I'm not putting it into the movie because this is personal."
Cage also has a talking crow at home (which he says calls him an "a--hole"), and according to GQ, when the owner of a local pet store recently died, the actor took in "a couple turtles" and a "fish with a bum eye that he felt bad for."
Cage stars as himself in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, and the GQ piece delves into the "meme-fied version" of him that has developed over the years. Cage described the movie as his way of "embracing" this — but he did tell GQ he wants to refute the "misconception that I'm crazy."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play