AceShowbiz - Nicolas Cage thought he was an alien as a child. Revealing that his father had described him as an "alien" during his early childhood, the 58-year-old actor was left "shocked" when a visit to the doctor's office revealed that he in fact had a "normal skeleton" complete with human organs.

"My father told me he felt like he had to introduce himself to me because I was such an alien. I was shocked the day I went to the doctor's office as a child and I found out that I had normal organs and a normal skeleton because I was certain I was from another planet," he said.

The Oscar-winning star went on to explain that he always struggled to "connect" with others and was eventually inspired by late eccentric pop star David Bowie to take up a career in showbusiness. He told Ramp Style magazine, "I had difficulties connecting with other people. When I saw David Bowie in 'The Man Who Fell to Earth', I realised I needed to do something. So I became an actor.' "

The "Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent" star - who is married to fifth wife Riko Shibata and has daughter August Francesca, three months, with her but also has sons Weston, 31, and Kal-El, 17, from previous relationships - has made headlines over previous bizarre claims in the past, once alleging that he had been stalked by a mime whilst shooting "Bringing Out the Dead" in 1999.

He said, "I guess it would fall into the stalker category more or less. I was being stalked by a mime - silent, but maybe deadly. Somehow, this mime would appear on the set of 'Bringing Out the Dead' and start doing strange things… I have no idea how it got past security. Finally, the producers took some action, and I haven't seen the mime since. But it was definitely unsettling."