- Nicolas Cage says he's "sorry" about eating a live cockroach in the 1988 film "Vampire's Kiss."
- According to the DVD commentary, Cage came up with the idea of his character eating insects in the film.
Actors often resort to extreme measures for a role, and it seems Nicolas Cage is no different.
However, Cage does regret taking things too far by eating a cockroach in the 1988 film, "Vampire's Kiss."
In an interview with Yahoo Entertainment published Friday, Cage, who is promoting his new vampire film "Renfield," recalled eating the bug when asked if he gave any insect-eating advice to costar Nicholas Hoult.
"I ate it twice because the director did it just to prank me," Cage said of eating a roach in "Vampire's Kiss."
In "Renfield," Hoult plays Renfield, the film's titular character, and Dracula's (Cage) right-hand man responsible for catching his prey. The movie chronicles the strain in their relationship as Renfield yearns to break free from Dracula and live an ordinary life.
"But um yeah no I'm not one to give advice, but he ate a potato bug, so he took it to another level," Cage said about Hoult.
Hoult, whose character also eats roaches in "Renfield," replied: "No, the cockroach is worse than a potato bug. I think. I don't know because the cockroaches I got to eat in this were caramel."
"Oh, but he ate a real potato bug, which is terrifying to me and so are cockroaches. I'll never do that again. I'm sorry I did it at all," Cage said.
"Vampire's Kiss," directed by Robert Bierman, follows businessman Peter Loew (Cage), who thinks he's becoming a vampire after being bitten in the neck by a woman named Rachel (Jennifer Beals).
According to the DVD commentary Cage did for the film, his character was supposed to eat a raw egg in a scene, but Cage upped the stakes and decided to eat the bug.
"I saw it as a business decision because when people see the cockroach go in my mouth it's like the bus blowing up in Speed, people really react, and it's like worth $2 million in special effects and all I do is eat a bug. So it's good business," Cage said in the commentary.
Cage said he was asked to perform the scene twice and ingested two cockroaches, but Bierman chose to use the first take in the film.
"Renfield" is currently in theaters.