Actors have their own inspirations for what helps them get into character. Academy Award-winner Nicolas Cage had his own idea of who to model for inspiration when he was in Kick-Ass. He played the character of Big Daddy who helped train his daughter, Hit-Girl, and made himself into a real-life superhero. So to better prepare for one of his best movies, what hero did Nicolas Cage draw from for inspiration to play a real-life Batman? Batman himself, of course! Nicolas Cage shared what Adam West told him when he revealed to him that his Batman was the inspiration for his Kick-Ass character.
Adam West was known for playing Batman in the 1960s Batman series over the course of two years. In an Ask Me Anything board on Reddit, a fan asked Cage if Adam West was his only inspiration for his role of Big Daddy or if there were any other sources he drew from. Here is what Nicolas Cage had to say to that:
I would give it all to Adam West. I grew up watching him on the 60s Batman show and he is where it begins and where it ends as Big Daddy. I met Adam West once and I said, ‘Did you see I was channeling you?’ and he said, ‘I saw you TRY to channel me!’
Well, it proves that no matter how many Batman movies there are out there, nothing will ever surpass the original portrayal of the infamous superhero character. Nicolas Cage is not the only actor who used Adam West as inspiration to play a superhero. Adam West also inspired Amazon’s The Tick about an unassuming account who doubles as a superhero in a blue tick suit fighting crime. Like Batman, the character of The Tick also has no superpowers. Peter Serafinowicz, who played The Tick, felt like his show was like a modern take of Batman and found it “flattering” when fans compared his performance to West.
Nicolas Cage did an amazing job in Kick-Ass playing the role of a dedicated yet whimsical father who had an unconventional relationship with his daughter. He taught this teenage daughter how to use deadly weapons and just kick ass in general. Did you know that Brad Pitt was originally going to be Big Daddy in Kick-Ass? Because Quentin Tarantino snagged him for Inglourious Basterds, Pitt was not going to be able to don a Batman-like suit as Big Daddy does. When Brad Pitt was no longer an option, it was easy for director Matthew Vaughn to think of Nicolas Cage since he knew the Raising Arizona actor loved comic books and superheroes. With Vaughn describing his script as “a love letter to superheroes,” this project was perfect for Cage.
If you want to see Nicolas Cage kick ass in his role as Big Daddy, you can watch it now using your HBO Max subscription.
