Nicolas Cage Fully Embodied John Madden in New Biopic, Co-Star Kathryn Hahn Says
Key Takeaways
- •Kathryn Hahn, who plays Virginia Madden, said Nicolas Cage's prosthetics-driven transformation was so complete that she felt she never actually met the actor during filming.
- •The David O. Russell-directed sports drama is scheduled to premiere on Prime Video on Nov. 18.
- •The film chronicles Madden's journey from Super Bowl-winning coach of the Oakland Raiders to a three-decade broadcasting career and his role in launching the Madden NFL franchise with Electronic Arts, a partnership dating to 1988.
- •Christian Bale plays former Raiders owner Al Davis, while Sienna Miller portrays Davis' wife, Carol Davis, a marriage Miller described as mutually devoted and inspiring.
- •Hahn said the film confronts challenges within the Maddens' marriage and family life to avoid reducing the couple to two-dimensional figures.
LOS ANGELES — Nicolas Cage's transformation into NFL legend John Madden for the upcoming biopic Madden was so complete that co-star Kathryn Hahn says she went through the entire production without feeling she had ever actually met the real actor.
Ms. Hahn, who portrays Madden's wife Virginia in the film, said Mr. Cage, an Academy Award winner, wore prosthetics for the duration of filming — a process that changed him in ways that went well beyond the physical.
"I do feel like he fully embodied John Madden," Ms. Hahn told Reuters. "I would even venture to say that I haven't really met Nicolas Cage yet because the prosthetics do something to you. He was definitely transformed from within."
Directed by David O. Russell, who previously directed Christian Bale in films including The Fighter and American Hustle, the sports drama is set to arrive on Prime Video on Nov. 18 — when audiences will get their first full look at Cage's performance.
The film traces Madden's path from his years as a Super Bowl-winning coach of the Oakland Raiders, then owned by Al Davis, to his role in creating Madden NFL with Electronic Arts, a partnership dating to 1988 that grew into one of the most influential video game franchises in history and has kept his name in front of sports fans long after his coaching and broadcasting days. After stepping away from coaching, Madden spent three decades as one of American football's most recognizable broadcast voices before retiring in 2009.
Christian Bale joins the cast as Davis, with Sienna Miller playing Davis' wife, Carol Davis. Ms. Miller, who grew up in Britain with no familiarity with Madden or Davis, said she was struck by the strength of the couple's marriage.
"He was devoted, completely devoted to her, and likewise," she said. "And that was inspiring."
Ms. Hahn, known for playing the witch Agatha Harkness in WandaVision and Agatha All Along, said the film needed to confront the challenges within the Maddens' marriage and family life. Exploring those less visible dimensions, she said, kept the couple from being reduced to two-dimensional figures.
"That's what makes it such a human story," she said.
— Reuters
