Nicolas Cage will only continue acting for “three or four more years”

Whilst in Puerto Rico discussing his new film ‘Primal’, he told reporters including The Blast: “In terms of producing and directing, yes, I’m getting back in production. My company, Saturn Films, is involved in all the movies I’m doing now.

“Directing is something I’d look forward to down the road, because right now I’m primarily a film performer. I’m going to continue doing that for three or four more years and then I’d like to focus more on directing.”

The ‘Con Air’ star’s decision to step away from a life in front of the camera comes after he revealed he can be “self-destructive” whenever he isn’t working.

He said: "I have multiple reasons for wanting to work. One of them is, to be blatantly honest, I can be a little self- destructive if I'm not focused on my job.

"I like the structure of work. It's the difference between maybe having one bottle of wine versus two bottles of wine. So there is a routine and a structure to it.”

Nicolas also admitted to having accepted lucrative film roles in order to help “pay the bills”.

He added: "I have had to deal with mistakes of the past and I have had to dig myself up and out of a rabbit hole financially, but had to find movies that work for me in terms of performance but also like anybody else pay the bills. It is a job after all.”

Although he is set to move behind the camera, Nicolas’ love for film hasn’t faded, as he still enjoys making movies.

He said: “I like to make movies. I enjoy performing. I like the power of film and performance and I like practicing.

"It's kept me in touch with my craft and I feel I'm better now than I have ever been. I've got my emotions at my fingertips and I've got my process down."