Cage digs 'G-Force' mole role

NEW YORK, July 25 (UPI) -- Hollywood film star Nicolas Cage says he was adamant he would not play the part of a guinea pig in the new big-screen adventure, "G-Force."

"I knew I wasn't going to play a guinea pig," the Oscar-winning actor -- who ultimately agreed to lend his voice to a mole named Speckles in the blended animated and live-action film -- told reporters in New York recently.

"There was no way on earth. ... No offense, but I think (guinea pigs) are obnoxious. I need an animal with a long tail that looks like he says, 'I dare you to pick me up.' That's the animal I need to play," Cage revealed. "I like moles. I like the way they look. I like Speckles' claws, his little eyes, his goggles. Everything about him just smacks of character and attitude. They have a purpose. They have a personality. They have an opinion. They're not little cute domesticated furballs."

Cage said his frequent collaborator, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, approached him about joining the "G-Force" team as they were wrapping up production on "National Treasure: Book of Secrets."

"I have this voice that I sometimes use. I call it my stress voice or my frustration voice where I've worked a lot or I've done a series of night shoots and I haven't slept, and rather than resorting to profanity or yelling, I'll just raise the voice an octave or two and I start laughing because it's so absurd and I can't take anything seriously," Cage explained. "So, when (Bruckheimer) asked me, I said, 'Can I talk like that?' ... (He) said, 'Absolutely.' Which shocked me. So, I said, 'All right.'"