--- title: Nicolas Cage Kazakhstan Photo Becomes a Viral Meme description: Nicolas Cage has become a meme once again thanks to a photo opp during a visit in Kazakhstan where he sported a traditional robe and hat. canonical: https://time.com/4871258/nicolas-cage-viral-meme/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-07-24T18:44:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:45:36.205Z og:title: Nicolas Cage Becomes Meme Thanks to Viral Photo in Kazakhstan og:description: The web is losing it over this picture og:url: https://time.com/4871258/nicolas-cage-viral-meme/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Nicolas Cage Becomes Meme Thanks to Viral Photo in Kazakhstan twitter:description: The web is losing it over this picture twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Nicolas Cage's Viral Facial Expression Has Renewed His Meme Lifespan Once Again > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Jul 24, 2017 6:44 PM UTC  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Jul 24, 2017 6:44 PM UTC [Nicolas Cage](http://time.com/3973963/nicolas-cage-interview/) has long been [the subject of many a hilarious meme online](http://www.complex.com/style/2013/07/the-30-funniest-nicolas-cage-memes/), but thanks to a recent photo taken of him during a trip to [Kazakhstan](http://time.com/4477252/uzbekistan-president-islam-karimov-ill/), it appears that his lifespan as a meme has been renewed once more. The Academy Award-winning actor was photographed standing next to the First Lady of Kazakhstan, Sara Nazarbayeva, while sporting a traditional Kazakh robe and topper which he accessorized with a blank stare, a combination that nearly made the Internet lose its collective minds. While Cage was in the country for the opening of the 13th annual Eurasia International Film Festival in Astana, his photo was already making the rounds on the web, with social media sparing no jokes when it came to the latest meme inspired by the actor. One Twitter user found stating the obvious was caption enough for the photo. > [](https://twitter.com/fabrice%5Fdeprez/status/889092123039068161) While another found the photo a fitting opportunity for a new movie plot. > [](https://twitter.com/Mnrrnt/status/889369457130450947) Others saw the image as a fitting foil to our generation’s cultural icons. > [](https://twitter.com/MarkyLott/status/889202598334664705) It made some people very happy. > [](https://twitter.com/nohodge/status/889107921740730368) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4871258/nicolas-cage-viral-meme/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4871258/nicolas-cage-viral-meme/"},"headline":"Nicolas Cage's Viral Facial Expression Has Renewed His Meme Lifespan Once Again","datePublished":"2017-07-24T18:44:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:45:36.205Z","description":"The web is losing it over this picture","url":"https://time.com/4871258/nicolas-cage-viral-meme/","keywords":["Newsfeed","celebrities","viral","memes"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4871258/nicolas-cage-viral-meme/","name":"Nicolas Cage's Viral Facial Expression Has Renewed His Meme Lifespan Once Again"}}]}] ```