Nicolas Cage's 'Longlegs' Co-Star Met Him for the First Time In Character: 'It Was a Pretty Insane Moment'
Maika Monroe co-stars with Nicolas Cage in the upcoming 'Longlegs.' Cage said he based his serial killer character on his own mother!
July 10 2024, Published 10:22 a.m. ET
Maika Monroe, the 31-year-old actress who co-stars alongside Nicolas Cage in the upcoming horror thriller Longlegs, has revealed that he stayed in character as the titular serial killer for the much of the shoot — including when they first met, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Monroe, who plays an FBI agent tasked with pursuing Cage's character, said that they were isolated from each other throughout the production. "I did not see him or any photos of him. I did not meet Nick until they called action," she told The Hollywood Reporter. "That’s when I opened the door to a room and saw him for the first time."
Cage wore thick makeup, facial prosthetics inspired by botched plastic surgeries, and a wig for the film, and according to a new teaser, his appearance in their first scene together was so terrifying that Monroe's heart rate shot all the way up from 76 to 170 bpm upon seeing him.
"I think I blacked out because it was probably one of the most insane experiences I’ve ever had on a set," Monroe said. "Nick Cage is just such an icon. Everyone knows him, everyone knows what he looks like and how he talks. He’s Nick Cage. So I was put into this room, and while I knew that it was him, there was no resemblance at all. And, as you know, his performance is absolutely insane. So I was opposite this monster, and it was so surreal, making it very easy to tap into my character that day."
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"Throughout that whole day of shooting, he was in character with the Longlegs voice. And then, when we finally finished the last take and called cut, that was the first time I heard his real voice," Monroe recalled. "He leaned over the table and he was like, 'I'm a real big fan of you.' I then just looked around and was like, 'Did everyone just hear that? Did everyone catch that? Because Nick Cage just said he’s a big fan.' So it was a pretty insane moment for me."
"They only share one scene together, which he really powers," director Osgood Perkins told io9 in a recent interview. "I was conscious of the fact that I had two very counterweight, counterbalancing energies ... I was able narratively to keep them apart, so there was very little interplay. Then when they do connect, it’s a very charged moment. And so their opposite charges work even better."
Monroe is dating Ariana Grande's real estate ex-husband, Dalton Gomez.
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Monroe, who was previously in a relationship with Stranger Things star Joe Keery, was spotted packing on the PDA with Ariana Grande's real estate ex-husband, Dalton Gomez last year, and they finally went public with their relationship by making things Instagram official last month.
Grande has also moved on with her Wicked co-star Ethan Slater, who got together with the pop star shortly after splitting from his wife.
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