Did Nic Cage Have to Pack on the Pounds to Play NFL Hall of Famer John Madden?
Fans are very divided about the casting.
Updated Dec. 28 2025, 7:04 p.m. ET
Hollywood has a long and complicated history with actors embodying larger forms. One of the most upsetting movies to do it was Shallow Hal. This raucous early aughts comedy centers around the titular Hal (Jack Black), who is only interested in people's outsides.
After motivational speaker Tony Robbins gives Hal the gift of only seeing inner beauty, he falls in love with Gwyneth Paltrow's Rosemary. In several scenes, Gwyneth wears a padded suit, leaving folks to wonder why she had to play the part.
Since then, we've watched Renee Zellweger, Brendan Fraser, Sarah Paulson, and Collin Farrell put on what is often referred to as a fat suit. It has opened up all kinds of conversations about what acting is, and what is an aversion to casting actors with certain physical attributes.
In November 2026, Nic Cage will step into the shoes of NFL Hall of Famer John Madden, who was not a small guy. Did the actor gain weight for the role? Here's what we know.
Did Nic Cage gain weight to play John Madden?
When it comes to fully immersing oneself in a role, few do it as well as Nic Cage. His commitment to a character can be seen in movies like Vampire's Kiss, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, Adaptation, and Mandy. It's hard to say where Nic ends, and his role begins.
His choices are consistently surprising, though no one expected the Oscar-winning actor to play sports legend John Madden in a movie about his life. The David O. Russell biopic is aptly titled Madden and also stars Christian Bale alongside comedian John Mulaney. Following the release of a 41-second teaser trailer in December 2025, people had one question: Is Nic Cage wearing a padded suit?
No one who is working on Madden has said anything publicly about what Nic did to transform into the late commentator. Based on the trailer, it appears that Nic is wearing a significant amount of prosthetics. It's more obvious in his face than anywhere else, though Madden famously wore short-sleeved shirts, which means any padding on Nic's arms will have to be very good. Like more than a few Oakland Raiders games, this is a really tough call.
Social media reactions to Nic Cage as John Madden are mixed.
When The Hollywood Reporter's coverage of the Madden teaser trailer was posted in the r/entertainment Subreddit, the responses were equal parts hilarious and cautious. Almost everyone commented on Nic's possible padded suit, with most folks concluding that he's wearing one.
One person pointed out that Frank Caliendo was very available to play John, so why not ask him? The comedian has what many consider to be the best impression of the late coach, and has done it on shows like Fox NFL Sunday, The Best Damn Sports Show Period, and Mohr Sports.
Speaking of comedies, there were a lot of comments suggesting Madden looks more like an SNL sketch than a movie. We're trying to reserve judgment, but perhaps u/xamott said it best when they asked, "Jesus ... why and why?"