Nicolas Cage has revealed that his long-standing reluctance to appear in television productions changed after he watched the acclaimed series Breaking Bad during lockdown.

Speaking in an interview with Variety, the Oscar-winning actor explained that he had traditionally avoided television roles because he preferred film work and did not want to take part in projects he considered overly conventional or homogenised.However, his perspective shifted when his son introduced him to Vince Gilligan’s crime drama.

Cage was particularly struck by the performance of Bryan Cranston, noting how the series used extended screen time to develop character depth in ways that are often not possible in feature films.

He described being captivated by a scene in which Cranston’s character is simply staring at a suitcase, emphasising how television’s longer format allows for sustained emotional storytelling and subtle character development.This experience led Cage to reconsider the potential of episodic narratives, particularly those with multiple hours to explore character arcs.

Following this change in outlook, Cage eventually agreed to take on his first major television role as the lead in Spider-Noir, an eight-part Amazon Prime Video series based on the Marvel character Spider-Man Noir.In the series, he plays an ageing private investigator and superhero navigating 1930s New York while confronting his past.

Cage admitted he found the transition both exciting and intimidating, describing the production as risky and uncertain until he saw the finished episodes.

The article also notes that Cage had been waiting for a television project he felt was distinctive enough to justify the shift from film, ultimately finding that opportunity in Spider-Noir.