8 Recent Incredible Movie Performances That Nobody Expected

8. Nicolas Cage - Pig

I guess it’s rather unfair that over the years Nicolas Cage has become a bit of a joke. It’s an unfortunate side-product of his propensity for goofy over-acting and his participation in a variety of bad films; it’s the Adam Sandler effect, if you will.

He has a range of solid performances under his belt, from performing alongside Cher in 1987’s Moonstruck to his haunting performance in 2018’s Mandy - his range is really quite impressive. This doesn’t make him immune to the effects of his less successful films, however, and it’s always the bad reputation that sticks around longest.

So when we heard of a film about a truffle forager whose pig is stolen with Cage in the main role, we expected the worst. Fortunately for director Michael Sarnoski though, his feature debut has been a hit with pretty much every critic - with Cage being praised for his convincing - and surprisingly subdued - performance as forager Rob Feld.

In Cage terms it’s an understated performance, which critics have praised for the modest humility he brought to the role. With Pig, Cage has reminded us all that he is not to be pigeon-holed.