Actor Nicolas Cage has expressed his frustration with the internet memes created from his numerous movie roles, stating it was a challenge to see his roles used for viral humour. During a promotional interview with The Guardian for the upcoming comedy film Dream Scenario, Cage elaborated on his initial struggles with meme processing when his character images and videos started appearing on social media platforms such as X/Twitter and Reddit.

Broadcasting on his career, he noted: "One person had cherrypicked from all these different movies where I was having meltdowns, but without any regard for how the character got to that place. I was frustrated because I didn't know what people were taking from the movies other than that." He further explained that he didn't initially understand how to deal with his notoriety from going viral, especially since he didn't get into movies with an aim to become a meme.

Many of Cage's roles have gained meme status due to his expressive acting style and grand performances. For instance, his role as Peter Loew in Vampire's Kiss (1988) contributed significantly to his meme popularity. Despite his initial resistance, he admits that these absurd performances were part of his appeal, inspiring characters that led to numerous memes, including "Not the bees" from Wicker Man (2006) and the Nicolas Cage and Pedro Pascal meme from The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022).

In the film Dream Scenario, opening in theaters on November 10, Cage likens his character Paul's experiences of appearing in strangers' dreams to his own meme-ifications, stating "he has no control over this inexplicable phenomenon." Currently, the film boasts a 92% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes with IGN's review describing it as a great and provocative cringe comedy for the social-media era, fueled by a shrewd screenplay and subtly surreal filmmaking.