Nicolas Cage stars as Nick Cage in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, a new action-comedy that sees the actor accept a $1 million offer to attend the birthday of a dangerous superfan (Pedro Pascal) when faced with financial ruin. However, things take an unexpected turn when Cage is recruited by a CIA operative (Tiffany Haddish) and forced to live up to his own legend, channelling his most iconic and beloved on-screen characters in order to save himself and his loved ones.
Earlier this month, we spoke to star Lily Sheen about her standout role as Nick Cage's daughter, Addy. In our review of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, we pointed out that Sheen delivers a "star-making turn" as Cage's daughter, and hearing her thoughts on this role was an absolute blast.
In our exclusive video interview, we hear from the actor on what it was like working with Nic Cage, Pedro Pascal, and Sharon Horgan, her first taste of action in a movie role, and what she'd like to see from a sequel should one happen somewhere down the line. Lily also talks in detail about getting to try her hand at improv, and reveals one particularly funny moment that ended up being cut.
You can check out all that and more from Lily in the video below. There's a good reason we described The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent "as an early film of the year candidate," so once you're done watching this interview, make sure you book your tickets for this action-packed comedy!
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent arrives in theaters on April 22.
The film is outstanding. I can only imagine what it must have been like to come on board a project like this.
Thank you! It’s amazing. I love the movie as much as everyone else and can’t wait for people to see it and love it as much as we do.
I have to ask - how hard is it to keep a straight face when you’re stuck in the middle of that hilarious back and forth between Nicolas Cage and Pedro Pascal?
It’s impossible and it was very difficult! They’re so funny and we were encouraged to use improv in the movie, so I was getting caught off guard all the time. I didn’t want to ruin the moment because they were so funny and Sharon Horgan is the most hilarious person I’ve ever seen. She was coming out with hilarious things all the time and I’m having to stand next to her being angry. Meanwhile, I’m choking on my own laughter, so it was very difficult.
You mentioned improv, but how did you find it bouncing off comedic actors like Sharon?
I had such a reverence for them. All of the actors in this movie are some of my favourite actors, especially Nic. Nic has been like a hero of mine forever, so I wanted to do them all proud. I didn’t want to be a weak link and wanted to make everything work. They were phenomenal to act with and really supportive. They really helped me to be the best that I could be on set. Tom Gormican, the director, is fantastic and so good at working with actors. He’s really funny and so is everyone else working behind the scenes. They would come up with improv and feed it to you or you would come up with one, and they would want to hear what you had to say or hear your voice. As did the other actors. It was amazing. I think Nic even improv’d one of his final lines about the bees. That stayed in the movie as did most of their improv, and that’s a testament to how funny they are. They’re so funny and it’s really hard to live up to that, but I hope I did them justice.
Having seen the film, absolutely. I’m curious, though; were there any jokes or moments that didn’t make the final cut you’re disappointed people might not get to see?
Definitely! Nic has this moment in the movie where he’s serenading me at my birthday party with this song he wrote for me. He was piss drunk, and it’s only a minute in the movie, but he had this seven-minute, insane song. He had drawn inspiration from this old clip of Elvis singing on stage and making this really strange noise. He was doing it constantly in the song and we were all standing there aghast at that moment. I’m supposed to be so upset, but it was the funniest thing I’ve seen in my life, and they didn’t even put that part in the movie. I hope they put it on a deleted scenes reel or something. Or they can put it on iTunes so I can listen to it on my phone [Laughs].
You mentioned being serenaded by Nic Cage, but you also get to go to therapy with him. Those must have been a couple of crazy scenes to be involved in?
Oh, yeah! It’s also really difficult because I also really like him and he’s such a cool guy. He was so paternal in the best way and family is everything to him. It really showed while he was talking to me as his on-screen daughter and I can see how he must interact with his own family. He’s so loving, really supportive, and kind and patient. It was really difficult for me to yell at him and be upset with him. That was really hard [Laughs]. You’ve got to act through it and, really, he’s amazing. He wants you to do the best performance that you can, so he made it easier. For me, we’d get to the end of the scene and I’d be saying, ‘I’m so sorry about that!’ He’s amazing. Like you said, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to go to therapy with Nic Cage or sit in the back of a moving car with him. I feel thrilled. I can’t believe this is my life.
Beyond the jokes, you do get to explore Addy’s relationship with her father, including the anxiety she’s feeling and even the way he overshadows her. What was it like to delve into the character’s emotions and get those more serious scenes with Nic?
That’s what is so cool about this script. There are so many moving parts and it’s so funny. There are these action sequences, but then there’s a grounded heart in the movie and I think that is through the relationships. My relationship with Nic and, of course, Pedro’s relationship with Nic. For me, as an actor, what was really fun to explore was building this character who, she’s playing opposite a real-life man and while this is obviously a very heightened version of Nic, it was supposed to feel, in some way, real. They’re related to each other and there are so many aspects of a movie within a movie. To try and toe the line between those larger than life absurd elements and over the top moments and then also try to bring it back and ground it in the hurt that I felt from feeling so unseen by Nic, that was really special for me. To see how far I could go on both ends.
There’s a lot to this movie and you do get to see some action near the end of the film. Without getting into spoilers, what was it like exploring that alongside the comedy and emotion?
It was so fun! It was amazing! I mean, I was very nervous. I wanted to do everyone proud, you know, and I’m not a sporty girl. I wanted to be able to throw and catch or whatever, but everyone was amazing. The cast was fantastic. Nic is an action star. In his real life, he was on the treadmill and working out all the time. He’s very fit. He was great and I could just watch him soar on set and that made it a lot easier for me.
This is such an incredible movie to begin with at this stage of your career, but what was it about this project and Addy, in particular, that made you want to join the film?
I mean, this is such a unique script. It’s so funny. Like I said, there are so many unique elements to it. It’s a movie I would want to see myself and it’s just fun. It’s a really positive movie and a movie that explores a lot of different elements that many movies don’t. At the heart of this, there’s that male friendship between Pedro and Nic that I don’t think many movies appreciate how important that is in our society in general. And to be able to make something creative together and how that draws you together as two people. Relationships between father and daughter and estranged family. There were so many different things to explore. Everywhere you look, you can find a different element within this movie that’s as interesting as the last. That was something that really came across through the script because the writing is phenomenal. As I was reading it, I was reacting to everything that was happening in a way that I hope audiences will react in the screenings. I’m so excited for everyone to see it. It’s so great and my initial reaction was so great. I know they’re going to love it as well.
With everything that’s been going on in the world these past few years with COVID, did you get the opportunity to work with Nic and Sharon much before cameras started rolling so you could establish the dynamic between the three characters?
Not beforehand. They had actually been filming for a while and Nic has been part of this movie for a while. I joined later on in the process and they had all been working. Immediately when we got to set, we were able to start hanging out. I met up with Sharon and we got to talk through our relationship and her life and my life. With Nic, he’s just fantastic. He was so great about being on set and helping you build that relationship. It felt very organic and we were able to talk and found we had a lot of shared interests in movies and music. It was just interesting to be able to hear about his life.
Nic has a history with Marvel and Pedro is, of course, in The Mandalorian and Wonder Woman 1984, but now you’ve had a taste of action, do those blockbuster roles interest you, whether it be Marvel, Star Wars, or anything in that realm?
Of course! I have a really great respect for those movies. I think they're fantastic. I would love to be part of them. I watch them all. I have the Disney+ app, so I'm always at home watching it. It would be phenomenal. It would be once in a lifetime.
I know people who have seen this movie keep saying they’re desperate for a sequel so we can spend more time with these characters, but if that were to happen, what would you like to explore with Addy?
I think the relationship between Addy and Nic is so special. I won’t spoil it, but at the end, where they get to and that journey…it would be so interesting to see them go on a road trip together or something like that. They’re very funny. I just want to see more of the movie. It would be so exciting if we could get these characters to go on another journey together. That would be amazing.