The First Time: Nic Cage on What Being (Briefly) Toothless Taught Him About Society

Nicolas Cage, who currently stars in the action-horror filmMandy, sat down withRolling Stonefor the latest installment of The First Time. The Oscar-winning actor kicked off the rapid-fire chat answering the seemingly innocuous first question (The first time You ate your favorite dish?) with, of all things, champagne and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Cage, dead-serious, said he imbibed champagne as early as age nine with his father. Which explains the KFC pairing he was nine.

The actor goes on to share more vivid memories and life lessons, from buying his first album (Electric Light Orchestra for the cool cover) to the first time he performed for his uncle, Francis Ford Coppola. As a kid, Cage and Coppola would play a game called Oh, Computer? where he was asked to answer various questions quickly. I always had a brilliant answer. Every time, he says. And I dont know where it came from.

See Nicolas Cage Talk 'Mandy,' Ethan Hawke and Angering Sir Ian Holm See Nicolas Cage Seek Revenge in Bloody 'Mandy' Trailer

The first time he met his idol was John Travolta, who he loved as early as elementary school. Cage said he was obsessed withSaturday Night Fever. Once, he imitated the scene of Travolta walking down the street with two paint cans as he left a tropical fish store (I love aquariums, Cage adds) with two buckets of water and his new fish. As he left with his two cans, he saw Travolta across the street in a tracksuit.It was eye contact, eye contact, eye contact, then I walked across the street, he says of the moment. Then later we starred together inFace/Off, so it was kind of trippy.

The expressiveness Cage showed early on would manifest in his acting career. When preparing for the role of a maimed Vietnam War veteran in the 1984 movie, Birdy, Cage wore bandages over his head for three months prior to shooting. Then, his real-life dental issues amplified the research.

For some reason, my adult teeth wouldnt come in so I had my two baby teeth extracted, which I had to do anyway so it wasnt psychotic but it did give me a feeling of disfigurement and pain I would walk around with bandages and two missing teeth the way people would look at me. Ill never forget, Cage says before a long pause. I learned so much about society. There was cruelty, there was laughter, there was mocking and that all went into the character.