Nicolas Cage to Play NFL Icon John Madden in David O. Russell’s Biopic
variety.comRebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Nicolas Cage will portray John Madden, the legendary American football coach and sports commentator, in the upcoming film “Madden,” director David O.
Russell. “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,” O.
Russell said in a statement. “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 1970s.” Madden, who died in 2021 at the age of 85, was the burly, garrulous head coach of the Oakland Raiders in the 1970s, leading the team to many championship games and a Super Bowl win in 1976.
He became a mainstay of television football coverage, spending three decades as a color commentator after retiring from coaching in 1979.
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