Nicolas Cage Talks "Season of the Witch"

NEW YORK (CBS) The season of holiday movies is over but "The Season of the Witch" is upon us. Nicolas Cage stars as a crusading knight returning home to devastation from the Black Plague in 14th century England.

Upon his homecoming, he teams with a fellow knight (played by "Hellboy" star Ron Perlman) to escort a young woman accused of being a witch to monks who may be able to cure her. Chaos ensues. CBSNews.com recently spoke with Cage about his latest action-adventure role.

CBS News: "How does one get into the mindset of a knight?"

Nicolas Cage: "Since none of us have, at least in this life, have really been there, I felt that I had the free reign of using my imagination...what I would like to see in my mind's eye. I knew that if I could get the sword work down and also learn how to really ride a horse, I could find myself in the part. Plus, I've been playing a knight ever since I was a child in the backyard. My father built me this little wooden castle and I would go in there and use my imagination to be a knight. And so, I don't know why it took this long to put on film, but I think that's where I did most of my homework for the part."

CBS News: "You said you had learned to ride a horse for the film. Was that difficult?"

Cage: "Well, it was the first time I had ever done it. And it was daunting at first. And at first I wasn't sure which way it was going to go, but I had a great teacher and a great horse named Dali, after the painter. And my teacher Camilla got me cantering over a hill in two days time. Then I started to say, 'You know what, this is one of the oldest relationships in man's history, of man and horse. This has to work.' Then I started to really get into it and enjoy it."

CBS News: "What about Ron Perlman? In the film your two characters sort of have a buddy dynamic. Did you develop a friendship on set as well?"

Cage: "Well, Ron is just a kick to be around. He's got a great sense of humor. He's got a great attitude. And I just liked him anyway as a person. It was sort of like non-acting. We just sort of let that flow into the movie. And the movie is about a buddy relationship. It is a buddy movie. And it's a road movie. And it has a lot of action in it, too."

CBS News: "Speaking of action, do you see yourself in more action films in the future?"

Cage: "I like to keep it eclectic. I like to do the adventure and action movies and also comedies and dramas, independent art films. Whatever I can do that keeps me excited. Because it's been a long time now [since I've been professionally acting] and I have to find parts and scripts that give me something to learn from."