Nicolas Cage Reveals Longtime Love You'd Never Expect

Hint: it has something to do with Mickey Mouse

In his two latest films, Nicolas Cage roughs up an old woman in a wheelchair (Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans) and shoots his (bulletproof-vested) young daughter repeatedly in the chest (Kick-Ass, which opens in theaters this weekend).

So pardon us for being a little slack-jawed upon finding out the deep, dark, rodent-involving secret that Cage himself just confessed, which may also explain his interesting taste in home décor…

Turns out, Kick-Ass Cage (see sneak peek above) is a big ol' Mickey Mouse-loving softie. No, but for real.

"I'm definitely a Disney fan," Cage admitted to Disney twenty-three—the magazine of Disney's fan club, D23—in an interview we acquired exclusively online. "[Walt Disney] has inspired me in so many ways, including how I feel, where I chose to live my life, and what I wanted to be. I spent a lot of time in New Orleans, and that's all because of the Haunted Mansion. Over the years, I just would try to find [Walt] wherever I would go and try to get inspired the way he was inspired."

So, ahem, we believe an apology may be in order. Though we described Cage's Bel Air castle—which failed to sell at auction last week—as "tacky," it turns out it may have just been an homage to his lifelong inspiration: good ol' Walt, which is sort of cool. Could Cage's obsession with Disneyland compel him to run an electric train choo-chooing around a breakfast room and two bedrooms in his magical castle? Um…sure, right? It's just too bad he didn't have a mirror where ghost mirages appear sitting next to you—which come on, admit it, would be pretty fantastic.

Cage, who will outfan you any day by analyzing the aesthetic nuances of various Disney films (for the record, he thinks Fantasia is "the most beautiful" but Pinocchio is a "masterpiece"), also stars in this July's Sorcerer's Apprentice. And despite his edgy role in Kick-Ass, he insists his favorite movies are of a more G-rated nature.

 "I want to make movies to share with the whole family," Cage says. "Not those that resort to gratuitous violence. That's a priority for me. Going to the movies becomes a family ritual. They're waiting for the movie to come out, and they go together, and they go get the popcorn and the tickets and they sit down, and they have that bond."

We suppose you could call that Kick-Ass clip at top father-daughter "bonding"? Regardless, check out the trailer for Sorcerer's Apprentice below…That's probably something more appropriate to take the kiddies to, after you swing by Cage's next open house for a wild ride.