Nicolas Cage Discusses Being Hypnotized By Cobras, Playing Monopoly With Johnny Depp

In a new interview with the New York Times Magazine, actor Nicolas Cage opened up about quite a few things. One recurring theme in the conversation happened to be snakes, but that certainly was not all that he had to say.

The actor sat down with the publication while wearing "a dragon ring the size of a walnut and a black velveteen jacket over a Bruce Lee T-shirt" for a recent profile, which retrospectively covered the course of his career.

In the middle of the interview, the discussion pivoted towards Cage's past appearance on David Letterman's show where he had talked about how he believed his pet cobras were trying to kill him.

"They would try to hypnotize me by showing me their backs, and then they'd lunge at me," he revealed, adding, "After I told that story on 'Letterman,' the neighborhood wasn't too pleased that I had cobras, so I had them re-homed in a zoo."

Following the previous statement, the "National Treasure" actor was then asked if animals had ever inspired his acting.

"The cobras, definitely. They would try to hypnotize you by going side to side, and when I did 'Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance,' that's something my character does before he attacks. Animals are fun places to get inspiration."

Continuing, he said, "Actually, I thought Heath Ledger was doing some reptilian stuff as the Joker, with the tongue darting out all the time."

Eventually, the topic turned away from snakes and towards Monopoly. According to Cage, he used to play the board game with Johnny Depp before the "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" actor had even considered going down the career path.

"He [Depp] was at the point in his career where he was selling pens or something to get by. He would take my money and buy cocktails but wouldn't tell me about it. He admitted it later. But anyway, we were good friends, and we would play Monopoly, and he was winning a game, and I was watching him and I said, 'Why don't you just try acting?'"

Depp refused the suggestion at first, saying, "No, I can't act," but eventually Cage convinced him to meet with his personal agent. Following the meeting, he was cast in "A Nightmare on Elm Street" in 1984, which was the springboard to his now-successful acting career.

To conclude the in-depth interview, he was asked how he would like his life's work to be remembered.

"I think time is a friend," he said, adding, "Many of my movies that were mocked are enjoying a renaissance. So I'm hopeful that time will be on my side."