Watch Nicolas Cage Play a Version of Himself in 'The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent' Trailer

Nicolas Cage, Tiffany Haddish, Neil Patrick Harris, Ike Barinholtz and more star in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, out April 2022

Nicolas Cage is in character as none other than Nicolas Cage.

On Tuesday, Lionsgate debuted the first trailer for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent exclusively with PEOPLE and Entertainment Weekly, offering a laugh-out-loud look at the new film, out April 22.

In the film, directed by Tom Gormican (Ghosted), the Oscar-winning actor plays a version of himself. One of Cage's superfans, a crime boss named Javi (played by Wonder Woman 1984's Pedro Pascal), pays Cage $1 million for the star to attend his birthday bash, where chaos ensues.

Sharon Horgan plays Cage's ex-wife and newcomer Lily Sheen stars as his daughter. The cast also includes Tiffany Haddish, Neil Patrick Harris and Ike Barinholtz.

Pedro Pascal and Nicolas Cage in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Katalin Vermes/Lionsgate

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

"['Nick Cage'] is an invented version of Nic Cage. The character is feeling unfulfilled and contending with the rejection that can happen so often in the small town that is Hollywood. It's not me. I'm feeling pretty good about things," Cage, 57, told Entertainment Weekly.

Katalin Vermes/Lionsgate

He added of playing a younger, imaginary version of himself named Nicky, "I wasn't too excited about the idea of playing myself, but when Tom sent me this script, Nicky reminded me a little of Jerry Lewis' Buddy Love in The Nutty Professor. I always admired what he did with that movie. For me, Nicky steals the show."

Katalin Vermes/Lionsgate

Back in September, Cage told Collider that he is "never going to see" the movie. He explained, "I'm told it's a good movie. My manager Mike Nilon, who is also a producer on it, looked at it. He was very happy. I'm told the audience loved the movie. But it's just too much of a whacked-out trip for me to go to a movie theater and watch me play Tom Gormican's highly-neurotic, anxiety-ridden version of me."

Lionsgate

"I said 'Tom, that's not really me. I'm really [made of] quiet, meditative, thoughtful moments. I'm not this neurotic, high-strung, anxiety-ridden guy all the time.' But he said, 'Well, neurotic Cage is the best Cage,' " the actor recalled. "I said, 'Okay, okay. Let's go, man. I'll do what you want.' I won't see it. But I do hope you enjoy it."

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is out April 22.