Nicolas Cage Reveals He Wrote One of Con Air’s Most ‘Absurd’ Lines to Keep With Tradition

Nicolas Cage has explained that he looked to Clint Eastwood for inspiration when writing his iconic bunny one-liner for Con Air.

The Oscar-winning actor recently walked down memory lane with Vanity Fair, sharing the backstories of several memorable scenes from his movies. He told the outlet he created the iconic “Put the bunny back in the box” line for ’90s action classic Con Air because he wanted his own Clint Eastwood-esque catchphrase.

“I wrote that line, ‘Put the bunny back in the box,'” Cage revealed, reflecting on Con Air. “You see these adventure films with these big stars, like Clint Eastwood, ‘Make my day’, and I thought, ‘How can I take that tradition, make the ‘Make my day’ so ridiculous? What can I come up with that will become my ‘Make my day’?’

“Bunnies are kind of funny,” he added. “I’m bringing a bunny to my daughter — that was another idea I put in. And that’s why I had the bunny because I wanted to say that line, ‘Put the bunny back in the box.’ It’s absurdity at its finest, but again, if you sell it with [laughs] genuine emotion and real determination, like this is the most serious thing in the world — and it is because he has to give it to his daughter who he hasn’t seen in six years. It’s serious, he means it, but it’s ridiculous, and that’s what I love about it.”

Con Air is a rambunctious classic that sees Cage (and his wind-blown hair) embody Cameron Poe, a newly-paroled Army Ranger who hitches a ride aboard a prison transport plane full of the worst criminals imaginable as he attempts to reunite with his wife and daughter while keeping her aforementioned bunny protected at all costs.

Cage has portrayed an eclectic mix of characters throughout his long-spanning career on screen, with many of his performances spawning iconic lines and becoming the source of internet memes. He previously admitted to feeling “frustrated” over the viral hilarity his roles attracted but said he eventually “made friends” with it.

The actor can currently be seen starring as biology professor Paul Matthews in A24’s R-rated comedy Dream Scenario, which sees Cage’s character become an overnight celebrity when he starts appearing in people’s dreams before the nightmare sets in, leaving viewers with some big WTF questions at the end of the film.