Actor Nicolas Cage says he "could have died" while training for his latest film The Surfer. Cage said he had a limited time to practice surfing and recalled taking surf lessons before beginning to film in Australia.

“I have surfed, but every time I've attempted surfing, I've been pounded to smithereens. I surfed down on Sunset Beach. When I was trying to learn, my teacher gave me a shortboard. I said, ‘Look, I want a longboard,'” he told Entertainment Weekly in an interview.

The actor recalled how longboard wasn't of much help for him as it got pounded in the ocean and even got stuck in the rip tide. “They said they saw my board, they call it ‘tombstone,' like that triangle top. I'm climbing up the leash as I'm somersaulting, and I could have died. Now I have a young kid, I don't know if I want to do it anymore,” he said.

Directed by Lorcan Finnegan, The Surfer released on May 2. The film follows Cage's character, who returns to the idyllic beach of his childhood with his son. However, things take a different turn when he gets humiliated by the locals.

Cage stars in this film along with Julian McMahon, known for his role as Dr Doom in the Fantastic Four film series. Nic Cassim, Miranda Tapsell, Alexander Bertrand, Justin Rosniak, Rahel Romahn, Finn Little, and Charlotte Maggi also star in this movie.