Let’s discover the mysterious nooks and crannies of Nicolas Cage’s past when he was still in his mother’s womb. 

SUMMARY

Renfield star Nicolas Cage claimed that his earliest memory is of being in the womb.
The 59-year-old actor recalled seeing “faces in the dark” in an interview with Stephen Colbert.

Christien Tinsely had to put in up to three hours a day to capture the essence of Dracula for Chris McKay’s $26.9 million film, ‘Renfield’.

With his unique roles and eccentric performances, Nicolas Cage, 59, has always enthralled the public. But what if we told you that the actor’s remarkable journey started long before he was born?

Born Nicolas Kim Coppola, Cage is a member of the Hollywood dynasty, with his uncle being the renowned filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather). But the beginning of the Ghost Rider star’s extraordinary life can be found even further back, when he was still a baby inside his mother’s womb.

During a visit to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the actor, without much delay or doubt, answered a series of questions and disclosed that his first memory of childhood was actually being in his mother’s womb.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent actor also claimed to have seen “faces in the dark” even before he was born.

Nicolas Cage in Ghost Rider
Nicolas Cage’s Initial Memory Was Derived From His Mother’s Womb

According to Nicolas Cage, the first memory he ever had was from his time in his mother’s womb. He claimed that he remembered seeing “faces in the dark” from before he was even born during his appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

“Let me think. Listen, I know this sounds really far out, and I don’t know if it’s real or not, but sometimes I think I can go all the way back to in-utero and feel like I could see faces in the dark or something. I know that sounds powerfully abstract, but that somehow seems like maybe it happened.”

Nicolas Cage in Dream Scenario
Since he was no longer in-utero, at that time he was likely feeling “vocal vibrations resonating” through him. Cage told Stephen Colbert:

“That’s going way back. I don’t know. That comes to mind… I don’t even know if I remember being in-utero, but that thought has crossed my mind.”

The actor was there to promote Renfield, the horror comedy directed by Chris McKay and based on a screenplay by Ryan Ridley. Based on the characters in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula, Cage played the role of Dracula in the film.

Renfield: Nicolas Cage Took Three Hours Every Day to Become Dracula?

Nicolas Cage took up to three hours a day to fully embody the legendary vampire Dracula for Chris McKay’s $26.9 million flick, Renfield.

However, Christien Tinsely, the makeup artist, informed Variety that designing Dracula’s teeth was the hardest part of the job. How Dracula’s teeth would emerge from the gums had to be taken into account when designing the teeth. Not just the canines, but all of Dracula’s teeth, according to Tinsley, were supposed to be razor-sharp.
Nicolas Cage in Renfield
Tinsley said he wanted to be able to make quick adjustments once Cage was on set because he did not have much time to prepare dentures and cast teeth using conventional denture methods. It turned out that “3D printing” was the best option:

“This was the first film that I know of where we used 3D printing to do all the dentures. We jumped in headfirst with 3D printing. We would scan Nic’s teeth and digitally sculpt them.”

Technology advancements in 3D printing, according to Tinsley, “allowed us more freedom to create different designs very quickly” using digitally printed acrylic resin. And in a matter of minutes, he could make dozens at once. He added:

“That allowed us to make them as thin as possible because if they broke, we could have another set ready to go.”

Nicolas Cage as Dracula in Renfield (2023)
Critics gave Universal Pictures’ Renfield mixed reviews; they enjoyed the film’s lighthearted tone and performances but took issue with the screenplay and plot. It was a box office disaster, raking in $26.7 million globally from its $65 million budget.