Actor Nicolas Cage has revealed the truth about his somewhat infamous visit to the private floor of Elvis Presley’s iconic Graceland estate — finally debunking the rumours that he tried on the music legend’s clothes and actually sat on his toilet.
Cage, 62, was given a very rare opportunity to tour the second floor of the rock ‘n’ roll king’s perfectly-preserved primary suite at the Memphis, Tennessee, property while he was married to Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, in 2002, Realtor reports.
It had previously been claimed that, during this visit, the “Face/Off” actor took great liberties with Presley’s personal items, with reports suggesting that he not only tried on one of his outfits, but also posed himself next to the toilet in the same position that the musician was found dead in 1977.
However, the actor has now spoken out to deny those rumours, telling The New York Times in a wide-ranging interview that, while he did have the chance to visit Presley’s bedroom, he did not do anything quite as brash as donning his clothing while there.
“No, that’s not true at all,” Cage said when asked about the rumoured incident. “What is true is that my ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley and I, there were a couple of nights at Graceland where she wanted to go upstairs, and so I did.”
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Actor Nicolas Cage has revealed the truth about his somewhat infamous visit to the private floor of Elvis Presley’s iconic Graceland estate with his then-wife, Lisa Marie Presley. Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images.
The second floor of Graceland is strictly off limits to the public, having been closed off when the property was opened to tourists. Picture: Raymond Boyd/Getty Images
Cage revealed that he did lay in Presley’s bed — recalling the “beautiful, poignant” moment of reflection he enjoyed while taking in the room.
“I remember lying in Elvis’s bed, and he had one of those little fibre optics things that spin and change colours,” he shared. “I remember staring at that and being very relaxed by it and calmed by it, and I enjoyed thinking of him looking at that and how it must have relaxed him.
“It was a beautiful, poignant little moment in my life.”
Cage is one of just a handful of people who has been granted access to the second floor of Graceland, an area that is strictly off limits to the public — having been carefully maintained and preserved in the years since Presley’s death.
In 2024, Oprah Winfrey was given a special tour of several rooms on the private floors of the property by Presley’s granddaughter, Riley Keough, who is now the sold trustee of Graceland — having been left the 13-acre estate by her mother, Lisa Marie, after her death in 2023.
In a CBS sit-down with Oprah, titled, “An Oprah Special: The Presleys — Elvis, Lisa Marie and Riley,” the Emmy Award-winning actress recalled many of her own memories inside the home, while also detailing special moments that took place between her mother and grandfather within the iconic estate.
However, other than close family members and those tasked with caring for the Graceland estate are banned from viewing the same sacred spaces toured by Oprah in the special.
“The upstairs of Graceland Mansion is not included as part of the tour,” the estate’s official website states. “The part of Graceland we show the world on our tour is the part that Elvis showed anyone who visited him at Graceland.
“The upstairs was his private area. When Graceland opened, [Elvis’ wife] Priscilla and Lisa felt that the upstairs should remain private, that letting everyone go up there would be disrespectful and inappropriate — something the rest of our management wholeheartedly agrees with.”
Presley’s surviving family members do, however, have the opportunity to share the space with whomever they wish, something that is often done in complete privacy, much like Cage’s visit with Lisa Marie.
Cage is one of only a handful of outsiders who have been granted access to the space — including Oprah Winfrey, who toured the estate with Presley’s granddaughter, Riley Keough, in 2024. Picture: Instagram/Oprah
Cage, who is now married to Riko Shibata, opened up about the “lack of impulse control” he displayed during the earlier years of his career — but said his sole focus now is being a great father to his daughter, August.
The Leaving Las Vegas star began dating Lisa Marie in 2000 — and the pair tied the knot in 2002 after less than two years. However, their volatile relationship came to a dramatic end just a few months later, with Cage later admitting that their “strong personalities” had been to blame for the break-up.
Cage — who had previously been married to actress Patricia Arquette — went on to marry three other women: Alice Kim, whom he married in 2004 and divorced in 2016; Erika Koike, to whom he was married for just a few months; and Riko Shibata, to whom he is still married.
While speaking to The Times, the actor looked back on what the reporter described as his “unconventional” life choices, conceding that he “had a lack of impulse control” in the earlier years of his Hollywood career, particularly when it came to spending money.
“It’s no secret that over the years, particularly early on, I had a lack of impulse control. Probably shouldn’t have bought that car or shouldn’t have bought that property,” he said.
While he did not elaborate on which purchases he “shouldn’t” have made, Cage’s money problems — particularly when it comes to his homes — have been well documented.
In 2009, he famously lost two New Orleans properties to foreclosure: the so-called LaLaurie Mansion, which is said to be one of the city’s most “haunted” homes, and a 13,000-square-foot French colonial abode. During that same year, news emerged that he owed the IRS more than $19.5 million ($US14 million) in unpaid federal taxes.
However, Cage insisted to The Times that his life has changed dramatically since those days, telling the publication that he is much more “boring” than he was during that time — and noting that his only “vices” these days are caffeine and “doomscrolling” on his phone.
“I am extraordinarily boring now. I live a very monastic life. I am not taking any risks whatsoever. If I can avoid it, I am really going to go the other way,” he said, before noting that his main focus is being the best possible father to his 3-year-old daughter, August, whom he shares with his fourth wife.
“I am all about raising my toddler to have a happy and healthy life,” he said, before admitting: “I do have vices. I drink entirely too much caffeine. I’m drinking 200-milligram strawberry energy drinks six times a day. I’m not good with my phone, and the doomscrolling’s gotta stop.
“But I’m not enjoying a martini, and I am not doing other things. So, to answer your question, I am not doing any unexpected things in life at the moment.”
Parts of this story first appeared in Realtor and was republished with permission.
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