Nicholas Cage doesn't mind being compared to Harrison Ford as he tackles his latest action movie which has already dominated screenings in the US. Steve Pratt reports.

NICOLAS Cage has won a best actor Oscar, eaten a cockroach on camera and played twin brothers on screen. Now he's back in action man mode, reunited with producer Jerry Bruckheimer for their fourth action collaboration. This follows their previous movies together, Con Air, The Rock and Gone In Sixty Seconds.

In National Treasure, he plays a thoughtful history buff called Ben Gates, who tries to steal the Declaration of Independence from its home in Washington DC. Cage admits that initially he didn't find the idea very plausible. "I thought, 'How can this actually be pulled off?'," he recalls.

"I met with director Jon Turteltaub who said, 'But that's what's interesting'. And Jerry Bruckheimer always brings in a great group of technical advisors, who do the research and try to figure out how to make everything as plausible as possible within the context of the film. And I got to do it in a tuxedo as well, so that was interesting for me too."

The idea of a hero in a tuxedo conjures up images of James Bond, who comes up whenever there's a tuxedo involved, says Cage. So does Cary Grant. "What's interesting to me is that in the beginning, during the rehearsal process, I wasn't exactly sure what the tone of the movie was going to be," he says.

"It was Jon Turteltaub, to his credit, who kept pushing it towards a stylisation not unlike what maybe Cary Grant or Jimmy Stewart might have done back in the 1930s and 1940s, where they seemed to have a very playful touch during these caper movies."

National Treasure has been a big hit in the US, topping the film charts for three weeks, and comparisons have been made with Indiana Jones. That's not a bad movie with which to be compared, says Cage. "I saw National Treasure with an audience the other night and saw people give themselves over to the fun of it all and just go along for the ride, which I was so happy about.

"So, yes, it does have a certain spirit that's reminiscent of Indiana Jones, though it parts company with that film in that there's nothing supernatural about National Treasure. The treasure we're looking for in the film, there are several highly intelligent people in real life who believe it exists and have risked their lives looking for it."

His character, Ben Gates, is obsessed with this treasure and the actor admits to having had obsessions too. "I've been obsessed over the years with where I could go with acting or how I could challenge myself with acting. I've endlessly wanted to push a bit further," he explains. He was helped by co-stars Diane Kruger and Justin Bartha, both of them relative newcomers. "They both have wild senses of humour. They're very mischievous and kind of off-the-wall in humour, as am I," he says. "So, as you can imagine, we got along great and had a lot of laughs on the set as well as off. I mean, we'd go karaoke from time to time and sort of blow it out and just be completely ridiculous, which helped the playfulness among the three of us on set and in the film."

He clearly admires Bruckheimer, partly because the producer is a terrific movie fan who loves going to the cinema and seeing entertaining films. "What's unique about Jerry is that he really does look in interesting places for his actors, writers and directors of photography," says Cage.

"He's always looking for someone who might come up with an unexpected choice, something a little bit outside the box, which you can see in a film like Con Air. He used a lot of edgier, more independent film actors in that. Look at the casting of Johnny Depp in Pirates Of The Caribbean. And he has a great sense of respect for veteran actors, like Robert Duvall, Jon Voight or Gene Hackman."

Cage is well prepared to celebrate his 40th birthday next month. "I always add a year to myself, so I'm prepared for the next birthday before it happens," he says. "So when I was 39, I was already 40 and now I'm about to be 41. See how it works? I'm feeling - well, I don't want to say happy because that's too fragile a word - but I'm definitely content. I'm hopeful about the future, although I'm spending most of my time thinking about the present."

As far as his career goes, he just wants to keep everyone guessing, himself included. He doesn't want to limit himself to independent movies or action movies, as he enjoys both.

"I'm the first to admit that my memories of the most fun I ever had at the movies would be going to the Clint Eastwood movies, or Charles Bronson or the Bond films. And Bruce Lee. I always forget to mention him. He was a huge inspiration for me when I was a kid. I think in my mind, I WAS Bruce Lee."

* National Treasure (PG) opens in cinemas on Boxing Day.

Published: 23/12/2004