The actor says he has been displaced from his oceanfront property as repairs continue on a coastal road damaged by a massive September sinkhole
Nicolas Cage says he is living in hotels after a massive sinkhole damaged access to his Malibu, California, home and forced evacuations along the private coastal road. The actor described himself as “a little bit homeless” during an appearance at Los Angeles Comic Con on October 31, nearly two months after the collapse began disrupting the neighborhood.
The sinkhole opened on Sea Level Drive on September 8 after severe coastal erosion damaged the roadway and the driveway outside Cage’s oceanfront property. Malibu officials declared a local emergency and ordered evacuations for 31 properties because the collapse left the only road serving the neighborhood unsafe for residents and emergency vehicles.
By the evening of September 8, the crater measured about 25 feet deep and roughly 30 by 60 feet wide. Seven residences were initially red-tagged because of hazardous conditions, while another 24 faced red-tagging because safe vehicle access had been lost.
The collapse also damaged natural gas infrastructure in the area, forcing gas service to be shut off. No injuries were reported, but officials warned that high tides and rain associated with Tropical Storm Marie could make conditions worse along the already vulnerable coastline.
Cage gave a personal update on the situation while discussing his Halloween plans at Comic Con. He said he had been staying in hotels and could not have the usual trick-or-treaters at his Malibu home.
“I’m currently a little bit homeless,” Cage told the audience, according to video of the panel.
He said he planned to take his four-year-old daughter, August, trick-or-treating in Santa Monica before watching Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining later that night. His remarks offered a clearer picture of how the September emergency continued to affect him weeks after the initial collapse.
The road damage has affected far more than Cage’s property. Malibu officials said Sea Level Drive is the only route into and out of the affected neighborhood, and the remaining section of road was too narrow to accommodate fire engines and other large emergency vehicles.
Malibu ended the initial emergency-response phase on September 11, but the city said mandatory evacuation orders and red-tag designations for all 31 affected properties would remain until conditions were considered safe. The Sea Level Drive Homeowners Association, working with licensed engineers and contractors, is responsible for overseeing repairs to the private roadway.
Repair work has continued while Cage and other residents wait for safe access to be restored. In October, Cage obtained four permits connected to work at his property, including excavation for a soil sample, debris removal and placement of sandbags designed to reduce additional damage from waves and coastal erosion.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the four permits cost a combined $3,158. They were among 14 permits issued to Sea Level Drive residents as property owners worked to stabilize damaged areas and prepare for more permanent repairs.
The sinkhole swallowed Cage’s driveway and made the street impassable to vehicles. Reports have also described damage extending toward the house, although NBC News said aerial images did not clearly show whether the main structure itself had sustained significant damage.
Cage bought the Malibu property for $10.5 million in 2024, according to property records cited by the Los Angeles Times. The nearly 4,000-square-foot oceanfront house sits near Lechuza Point, an exposed stretch of coastline where residents have faced repeated concerns about waves and erosion.
The city has consistently described the Sea Level Drive incident as a coastal erosion emergency. That is more specific than early reports saying authorities were still investigating why the ground collapsed, since Malibu’s official September 8 notice directly linked the sinkhole and loss of road access to coastal erosion.
The situation also shows why restoring the roadway is central to the neighborhood’s recovery. Even homes that were not directly damaged by the sinkhole cannot safely return to normal use if emergency crews cannot reach them.
By October 19, the Los Angeles Times reported that Sea Level Drive remained impassable and that it was still unclear when the evacuation orders would be lifted. Repair crews had been working on erosion protection and preparation for longer-term fixes while residents remained displaced.
Cage has continued making public appearances during the disruption, including his October 31 Comic Con panel. His comments did not suggest that he had permanently lost his home; instead, he said he was temporarily living in hotels while access to the Malibu property remained unsafe.
The actor’s situation has attracted attention because of his celebrity, but the emergency affects an entire group of homeowners along Sea Level Drive. Malibu officials have said they will provide further updates when the repair timeline, road conditions and safety requirements are verified.
For Cage and his neighbors, the key issue is when the private road can be repaired enough for residents and emergency vehicles to return safely.
IMAGE: Academy Award-winning actor Nicolas Cage meeting with fans after filming a scene for National Treasure 2 at the University of Maryland.. Photo: Kirk Weaver / Wikimedia, taken 2007-11-21, CC BY 2.0