Writer-director Brian Skiba says he formed a creative connection with Oscar-winning actor Nicolas Cage while filming the period drama Gunslingers.
Set in the fictional Kentucky town of Redemption in the early 1900s, the film Gunslingers follows a group of outlaws searching for new lives. Skiba, who had studied Nicolas Cage’s films in school, admitted feeling slightly intimidated at first.
“I grew up watching his movies,” Skiba said. “But after talking with him, I realised we’re both artists who care deeply about storytelling. That created instant respect between us.”
Despite filming in just 18 days during tornado season in 2024, Nicolas Cage embraced the challenge. Skiba praised him as respectful, humble, and professional.
“Nic never hid away in a trailer,” he said. “He sat in costume, near the set, ready to perform. It was refreshing.”
Actor-producer Randall Batinkoff, known for roles in School Ties and For Keeps, was instrumental in bringing Nicolas Cage on board. “He told me Nic would do it, but we had to start shooting in two weeks,” Skiba recalled. “We scrambled, but made it work.”
Skiba initially wanted Nicolas Cage to play the town’s mayor, but Cage preferred the role of Ben, a complex outlaw who finds religion.
“He liked that Ben had layers — a cold-blooded killer turned believer. We developed the character together. Watching Nic work was like a masterclass.”
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The cast also features Heather Graham, Stephen Dorff, and Jeremy Kent Jackson. Skiba, a self-described “collector of actors,” said he trusted the team to deliver under pressure.
The film explores how people with dark pasts search for redemption. “They weren’t all bad,” Skiba said. “Sometimes they were just caught in the wrong circumstances.”
Skiba believes the era, just after the Civil War, gives the story a fresh setting. “It wasn’t just horses and lanterns. There was progress — and hope.”
