Nicolas Cage to star as John Madden in biopic

Nicolas Cage has signed on as the lead in ‘Madden’.

The 60-year-old actor will star as John Madden - the famed NFL coach and sports commentator who founded the popular video game series ‘Madden NFL’ - in the upcoming biopic, which is due to be directed and written by ‘American Hustle’ filmmaker David O. Russell.

The movie, which is being produced by Amazon MGM Studios, will follow Madden in the ’70s after he became the head coach of the Oakland Raiders and drove the team to victory at the 1977 Super Bowl.

In a statement, the director said: “Nicolas Cage, one of our greatest and most original actors, will portray the best of the American spirit of originality, fun, and determination in which anything is possible as beloved national legend John Madden.

“Together with the ferocious style, focus, and inspired individualism of Al Davis, owner of the underdog Oakland Raiders, the feature will be about the joy, humanity and genius that was John Madden in a wildly inventive, cool world of the 1970’s.”

After his time with the Raiders, Madden - who passed away in 2021 at the age of 85 - went on to have a successful three-decade-long career as a colour commentator, which cemented his place in American pop culture.

From 1988, the sports legend worked with Electronic Arts to create an American football video game series what would eventually become ‘Madden NFL', a franchise for which he became synonymous with.

Cage’s starring role in ‘Madden’ will likely be one of his last, as the ‘Longlegs’ actor announced last year he would be winding down his Hollywood career.

He previously told Vanity Fair magazine: “It’s starting to solidify - I’m starting to cement my plan. I may have three or four more movies left in me.

“I do feel I’ve said what I’ve had to say with cinema. I think I took film performance as far as I could.”