Nicolas Cage says he's only got 3 or 4 movies left in him

In a moment which will leave his fans despairing, Nicolas Cage has said that he only has 'three or four' more movies left in him.

The movie star is known for taking on an enormous number of roles over his career.

In fact, one estimate puts the number of films that Cage has been in as at least 119 movies. And that's not counting upcoming ones either.

But the Con Air, Face/Off, and Captain Corelli's Mandolin star has now said that he may not have many more films left.

Speaking to UPROXX, he said: "I like to keep mixing it up. I don’t want to get stuck in any genre or any performance style. I want to do it all.

"And I feel that I’ve, at this point – after 45 years of doing this; that in over 100 movies – I feel I’ve pretty much said what I’ve had to say with cinema."

But fans of Cage need not worry too much.

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While the star alluded that while he has plans to step back from the big screen, he has no intention of retiring from acting altogether.

Cage said: "I’d like to leave on a high note and say, 'Adios'. I think I have to do maybe three or four more movies before I can get there, and then hopefully switch formats and go into some other way of expressing my acting."

There are certainly plenty of opportunities to explore that at the moment, with multiple streaming platforms putting out all manner of new shows.

And television will certainly be a new venture altogether for Cage. Despite having more than 100 movie roles, his TV filmography is much smaller.

"I would’ve liked to have left on a high note, like Dream Scenario," he added.

"But I have other contracts that I have to fulfil, so we’ll see what happens.

"I mean, I am going to be very severe and very astringent on the selection process moving forward."

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Cage went on to talk about the different ways of performing in television, which can allow for a far more slow burning approach than a movie.

He said: "I have seen things that can be done now with characters and the time they’re given to express themselves. I saw Bryan Cranston stare at a suitcase for an hour on one episode of Breaking Bad.

"We don’t have time to do that in a feature film, so maybe television is the next best step for me. We’ll see."