Nicolas Cage talks The Frozen Ground, Superman Lives and those Disney Princess pics (Exclusive)

The internet was made for people like Nicolas Cage. With endless streams of online tributes, parodies and memes dedicated to the actor and his own self-described “operatic” style, Cage looks set to continue to be a genuine internet phenomenon.

But the 49-year-old actor is all too aware of his own persona, so with icy crime thriller ‘The Frozen Ground’ out this week, he tells us he felt like it was time for a change.

“I never want to get trapped, in any particular style,” boasts Cage, defending his infamous overacting. “I feel as an actor you have to have range and you even have to break the rules sometimes. And sort of liberate the craft. Don’t get stuck in like it has to be so-called real, go surreal! Where’s your 10 or 11? It doesn’t matter.”

“[But] I think I need to remind people that I’m also capable of quiet, minimalistic performance. As well.”

See the rest of our interview with Nicolas Cage above, exclusively to Yahoo! Movies UK.

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‘The Frozen Ground’ sees Cage star as real-life detective Glenn Flothe (renamed Jack Halcombe in the movie), who brought down infamous serial killer Robert Hansen who was responsible for the deaths of between 17-21 women in early 80s Alaska. Halcombe is assisted in his search by a teenage prostitute who escaped the killer, played  by ‘Spring Breakers’’ Vanessa Hudgens. It’s pretty serious stuff.

Oscar winner Nic revealed it was reading online fan reactions to the universally panned ‘Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance’ that made him want to prove he could still be a serious actor, as did the infamous video compilation of Cage “going nuts” on screen.

So, we asked the ‘Leaving Las Vegas’ star what was the craziest thing he’d seen about himself online – at which point he admitted he’d actually seen for himself BuzzFeed’s now super-viral gallery ‘Nicolas Cage as your favourite Disney Princesses’, that took the internet by confusing storm earlier this week.

“I don’t take it personally. I know there’s irony in there but it’s fine with me - whatever you want to do,” laughed Nic. “But I’m amazed they haven’t been sued by the Disney Corporation!”

“Those are very important characters to a lot of young ladies in the world,” he added “…and there’s me! Whether it’s genuine or ironic? ‘Have at it’, that’s what I say. I don’t take it personally. In fact, if you can’t beat them… Join them.”

You can see Nic’s brilliant, but very weird, princess pics here. (We didn’t ask which one was his favourite…)

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When he’s not busy being an animated drag queen though, Nic is a well known lover of comic books, particularly Superman - he even named his son Kal-El after Clark Kent’s birth name.

Famously, Cage was set to realise a dream when he was cast in Tim Burton’s ill-fated ‘Superman Lives’ back in the mid 90s. Production problems rained heavy from the start, and the movie dubbed “the weirdest Superman film never made”, remains a red-caped pipe dream.

But with Zack Snyder’s  ‘Man Of Steel’ recently smashing up the international box office, and Brit Henry Cavill now firm footed in Supe’s shoes, does Cage still think he could have done the character justice?

“I didn’t see the latest ‘Superman’,” Nic admits. “I heard it was good and I heard [Henry Cavill] was good. I’d like to see it… [But] Look, Tim Burton? Come on, the guy’s a genius… What an artist. And I knew where he was going it would have been special. And I knew what I wanted to do with the character would have been unique,

“However, ultimately I’m glad I didn’t have to do it,” he adds. “It’s kind of like a win, win, You know. Leave it to your imagination what might have been. It’s more powerful that way.”

‘The Frozen Ground’, directed by Scott Walker, is out in the UK 19 July 2013.