Nicolas Cage almost built a movie studio in Las Vegas.

The 58-year-old actor was born in California but has resided in Vegas for many years and revealed he had big plans to build a studio in the city but they were ruined by Elon Musk.

He told chat show host Jimmy Kimmel: "Vegas has been good to me, it really has. It’s both a small town and a big city. It’s probably one of the most unique addresses. If you want to go to the strip and participate you can. If you want to just go with the locals and go to the cool restaurants then you can."

"I’ve had great experiences making movies there. ‘Leaving Las Vegas’ was great. ‘Honeymoon in Vegas’ is great. I’ve got good mojo there. I tried to get a movie studio built there and then Elon Musk came in, and all the money I got for the movie studio — I got $80 million — they put into the Tesla corporation, which then ironically drained all of the water out of the city. But I almost got it, I almost got a movie studio."

Meanwhile, Nicolas recently revealed he wants to star in a musical and continue to make indie dramas.

The 'Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent' actor told Rolling Stone: "Right now, I’m excited that the comedy is back on the menu. It hasn’t been there for, gosh, 15 years. That’s nice that I may have the opportunity to do more comedy.

“But I’ve never done a musical. That would be something that I would be curious about.

"I just want to continue on the roots of the indie drama. That’s my true passion, movies like 'Pig' or 'Leaving Las Vegas' or 'Joe'. 'Bringing Out the Dead' — I saw that recently. I have to say that might be the best movie I ever made."