Nicolas Cage wishes the world had seen some of James Dean's mistakes.

The 'Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent' actor is a huge admirer of the late Hollywood icon - who tragically died in a tragic car crash aged 24 in 1955 and had just three big screen credits to his name, in 'East of Eden', 'Rebel Without a Cause' and 'Giant' - and he wonders what else Dean would have done in his career.

He told Empire magazine: "When I think about my heroes, like James Dean, what would he have done? He was robbed from us too early.

"He has a perfect career because he only got to make three moves. If you're in the game for 50 years, you're going to start making mistakes, but that's okay. I would have liked to see some of his mistakes."

The 58-year-old star also reflected on his career change in the mid-1990s when he was seen more as an action hero with roles in blockbusters like 'The Rock', 'Con-Air' and 'Face/Off'.

However, Nicolas insisted while it was "a dream", he has other ambitions at this point in his own life and career.

He explained: "Well, it was a dream come true. An adolescent dream, but a dream nonetheless. I wanted to do that which I was told I was not capable of.

"It's not where my heart is now. My heat is in the movies we talked about earlier, like the Kore-eda films, but I am eclectic. I will keep mixing it up."

When it comes to his inspirations, Nicolas noted he will watch "anything" with Cagney and Bette Davis, while his more contemporary influences include Cate Blanchett.

He added: "I'm also looking at a lot of Japanese movies, particularly [Hirokazu] Kore-eda.

"His picture 'Like Father, Like Son' ripped my heart out. I think those actors are the best in the world right now.

"There's a cinéma vérité style to the performances where I feel like I'm in the room with them but they don't know I'm there."