Nicolas Cage will not be pushed around by toxic locals in The Surfer. The Oscar winner stars as the titular character, a family man whose vision of bringing his estranged teenage son and wife together by purchasing a luxurious beachside mansion in his small Australian hometown. As he tries to introduce his son to the local beach and surfing, he comes into conflict with a local gang, who torments him and sends him down an intense spiral of toxicity and life questions.

Alongside Cage, the ensemble cast includes Julian McMahon as Scally, leader of the gang, Nic Cassim, Miranda Tapsell, Alexander Bertrand, Justin Rosniak, Rahel Romahn, Finn Little and Charlotte Maggi. Helmed by Vivarium and Nocebo's Lorcan Finnegan, The Surfer previously screened at 2024's Cannes, the International Film Festival Rotterdam and South by Southwest, where it earned rave reviews for Cage's performance, the tense pacing of the film, and exploration of toxic masculinity, including how one like Cage's character could be drawn in by it.

In honor of the movie's release, ScreenRant interviewed Nicolas Cage to discuss The Surfer. The producer/star opened up about how he resonated with his character's journey, particularly his drive to get what he wants in order to bring his family together, as well as the movie's toxic masculinity theme, how the beach they filmed on helped inform his performance, and working with Marvel secrecy.

Cage "Quickly Connected" With His Character's "Experience Of Being A Person"

The Beach Was Also "An Immense Contribution" For His Performance

While Cage is certainly no stranger to the psychological thriller genre, his character, simply named The Surfer, is initially one more reserved who, through his interactions with Scally and his gang, becomes more deranged. In reflecting on the various layers of his character, Cage found he "quickly connected with the idea" of "the experience of being a person", something he also feels makes the movie more relatable.

He specifically points out his character's mindset of "Oh, if I just do this extra bit of work, I can get that house back and everything is going to be all right", as well as "Oh, I can repair my marriage", and "Oh, I can reconnect with my teenage son, it's just going to be a fix". The Oscar winner went on to denote these thoughts are "misguided" and "ill-advised", primarily as one "can't fix how people are going to receive you".

But this guy is hell-bent on it, and I thought there was something relevant about that in today's times. And also the bro culture and the toxicity of the masculine bro culture, and how it's kind of invaded all walks of life, not just surf tribalism or localism, but it's everywhere. To see that plainly in view in this movie, I think, is very now.

Another element that really helped Cage get into the world of The Surfer was its shooting location, which the star praised as being "an immense contribution" to his performance. The actor described how the beach was not only "spectacular to look at", but also offered "a very thin veneer between that which is venomous and society in Australia", recalling being "surrounded by flies that like to bite" and "all kinds of venomous animals". One of the crazier encounters Cage had was with "the big kahuna" of great white sharks, which "were swimming underneath me" while he was on the surfboard.

Marvel & Sony Have A "Cone Of Silence Glass" Around Spider-Noir

"...I'm Sorry For This..."

Looking beyond The Surfer, Cage recently wrapped filming on Spider-Noir, the live-action Spider-Man show in which he stars as the titular, down-on-his-luck private investigator version of the Marvel webslinger. When asked about his experience on the show and wearing the supersuit, the Oscar winner chuckled and began by saying "I'm sorry for this answer" before going on to explain the level of secrecy he has to maintain for the show.

"The studio has literally put like a five-inch acrylic cone of silence glass around me," Cage explained, "and they won't let me say a word about it, which is really weird. But that's where they're at, they're keeping it so close to the vest."

More About The Surfer (2025)

In the psychological thriller directed by Lorcan Finnegan, a man returns to the idyllic beach of his childhood to surf with his son. But his desire to hit the waves is thwarted by a group of locals whose mantra is “don’t live here, don’t surf here.” Humiliated and angry, the man is drawn into a conflict that keeps rising in concert with the punishing heat of the summer and pushes him to his breaking point.

Check out our previous Surfer interviews with Lorcan Finnegan, Julian McMahon, Leonora Darby and Thomas Martin at SXSW!

The Surfer is now in theaters!

Source: ScreenRant Plus