Nicolas Cage's divorce cast a shadow over production — he flew home weekly and, according to de Bernières, stayed in a bad mood throughout filming

Scandals & Feuds3/5 wildness

Nicolas Cage's divorce cast a shadow over production — he flew home weekly and, according to de Bernières, stayed in a bad mood throughout filming

Nicolas Cage / 2000s

Behind the mandolin and the pastoral cinematography there was private turmoil: Louis de Bernières later reported that Nicolas Cage was in a persistently bad mood during the shoot because he was going through a divorce from Patricia Arquette. The biography of the production records that Cage would fly back to California every week while shooting on location in the Ionian Islands, a pattern that interrupted the production routine and became part of the set's lore. Cage nevertheless committed to the role in a practical way — learning to play the mandolin and performing the instrument himself in every on-camera scene — but contemporaries and later commentators have cited his personal upheaval and frequent absences as a quiet strain on the atmosphere during filming. The anecdote survives as a snapshot of how private crises of major stars can intrude on location shoots and become woven into a film's behind‑the‑scenes narrative.