Nicolas Cage Is Now Nicolas Cage, Legally

Nicolas Cage says the name that once helped him dodge charges of nepotism is now the one on his driver's license. In a wide-ranging interview with Variety, the actor born Nicolas Kim Coppola revealed that he legally changed his name last year to his stage name. The 62-year-old began using it decades ago to step out of the shadow of his uncle, director Francis Ford Coppola.

"'Tis better to be the patriarch of my own little family than the clown cousin on the margins of someone else's, so I decided I'm going to bring it on and be 'Cage,'" he tells Variety. Cage's late father, August, was the older brother not only of the famed director but of actress Talia Shire, notes People. Famous kin include Sofia Coppola (the daughter of Francis) and Jason Schwartzman (the son of Shire). For the record, Cage's last name is an homage to Marvel Comics superhero Luke Cage.