Nicolas Cage to star as legendary NFL coach John Madden in upcoming unique biopic

Madden served as the Oakland Raiders head coach in the 1970s and led the franchise to a Super Bowl victory in 1976

By Chris Bengel Aug 16, 2024 at 10:07 am ET• 1 min read

Actor Nicolas Cage is slated to play legendary NFL head coach and announcer John Madden in an upcoming biopic. The film will be directed by 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," 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."

Amazon MGM will be the studio that will be producing "Madden." According to Variety, actors Will Ferrell and Hugh Jackman were also being considered to play Madden prior to casting Cage.