Nicolas Cage has played plenty of heroes and villains throughout his career, and he says that he enjoys taking on both kinds of roles, his reason being that he would not like to be "stuck" playing only one side of the scale. It is safe to say that the actor has been remarkable in nearly every performance he has shown throughout his career. He portrayed a chilling villain in Longlegs and also appeared as Dracula in Renfield. At the same time, he has been equally brilliant while playing complicated roles, too.

Now, after decades of taking on a wide range of characters, the actor recently weighed in on why he enjoys portraying both heroes and villains.

The Academy Award-winning actor believes that playing both heroes and villains has always been fun for him. However, what he fears most is getting stuck playing just one kind of role and allowing that to define his career. And that is clearly evident in the resume of the versatile actor.

“Villain? I've played plenty of villains. I like both. I think they're both important parts of cinema. I would not want to get trapped into doing one thing,” he told PEOPLE during the Spider-Noir premiere at the Regal Times Square in New York City.

Interestingly, Nicolas Cage was once in discussions to play the Green Goblin in the 2002 Spider-Man movie, directed by Sam Raimi. However, he instead chose to star in Adaptation, which earned him an Academy Award nomination. Meanwhile, Willem Dafoe went on to play the Green Goblin alongside Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man. Now, Cage is returning to the Spider-Man universe as he prepares to appear as Ben Reilly in the series Spider-Noir.

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Not just as a cast member, Cage has also played a crucial role in one of the creative decisions behind the series.

Nicolas Cage will appear as Ben Reilly in the Spider-Noir series. The show will be available in two formats, which are a color version as well as a black-and-white version. While it was originally supposed to be released only in black and white, Nicolas Cage reportedly pushed for the series to be shot in both formats.

“You don’t only have to shoot it in black and white; you can also get teenagers, who might be watching, by shooting in color with almost a colorized feel. And maybe that’ll make them interested in watching it in black and white,” Cage said at the world premiere for Spider-Noir on May 13. 

Now, there is a lot of anticipation surrounding both formats, with many viewers eager to watch each version separately. While the black-and-white presentation keeps the spirit of noir films alive, the color version has also been made available for audiences. The series is all set to arrive on May 25, 2026, via MGM+ and May 27 on streaming, showcasing Nicolas Cage's careful dabbling in genre acting. 

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What do you think about Nicolas Cage's opinion on playing both villain and hero? Share your take in the comments.