The Time A Horse Tried To Kill Nicolas Cage

Recently, Nic Cage wrapped a movie called Butcher’s Crossing- a western based on a novel of the same name which follows a Harvard student who makes his way out to the American West in the early 1870s. In the book, the protagonist contemplates their relationship with nature, and appropriately enough, during filming, Cage had to rethink his own relationship with the natural world. Horses, manely.

Given his GIF history, you’d think that Nicolas Cage would glide around any stable, hair in the wind, not a care in the world as his trusty steed prances and gallivants beneath him.

And the national treasure himself says that he’s “always had good experiences with animals, always had great experiences with horses …”

Until Rain Man.

According to Mr. Cage, his horse, Rain Man, hated him. “Rain Man,” said Cage in a recent Actors Roundtable, “kept trying to knock me off … he would try to run my head into roofs, and then he would try to throw me … then he would headbutt me!” Although the actor didn’t specify how many times his horse tried to kill him, we can be pretty confident that Rain Man knows the exact number. The horse tortured him so much that Cage said he was “So happy to get through that movie alive!”

Although everyone thinks it’s funny to see how animated Nic Cage gets when talking about his equine enemy, no one is more tickled than Andrew Garfield. At one point, Cage clearly feels somewhat self-conscious about how much time he’s taken up with his horse horror story, but Garfield reassures him, “We can keep talking about Rain Man if you want!” And Nic Cage clearly needs to. “I haven’t let go of it!” Cage exclaims. 

Horses came up in the first place because Jonathan Majors was talking about filming The Harder They Fall, the Netflix western that recently came out:

OncOnce Cage works through some of his self-proclaimed PTSD from dealing with his homicidal horse, Jonathan Majors asks where Butcher’s Crossing was filming. After almost two minutes of Cage venting, Majors has the funniest moment of the entire roundtable, saying he’s actually ridden Rain Man himself. Cage asks, “Was he nice to you?? Was Rain Man nice to you??” And Majors diplomatically says that Rain Man “may have been a little older when I got him.” This sits fairly well with the table, although Dinklage points out that age doesn’t always mean a kinder temperament. 

Overall though, it seems like everyone is satisfied with this reasoning besides Cage, who sits confused for a few moments before saying, “No, we just wrapped Butcher’s Crossing three weeks ago.” Leading to the inexplicable conclusion that this isn’t just about Rain Man being a rough ride for everyone; this horse really does hate Nicolas Cage.

Top Image: Nicolas Genin/Wiki Commons, Joachim_Marian_Winkler/Pixabay