Nicolas Cage claims earliest memory is being in his mother’s womb: ‘I could see faces in the dark’

Nicolas Cage made a surprising revelation during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The actor claimed that his earliest memory is being in his mother’s womb, saying that he could see faces in the dark. The statement was made in response to Colbert’s “Colbert Questionert” segment, during which he asked Cage about his earliest memory.

Cage further explained that he wasn’t sure if the memory was real, but sometimes he thinks he can go all the way back to feeling like he could see faces in the dark. He went on to speculate that it may have been vocal vibrations resonating through to him at that stage.

The idea of being able to remember events from such an early age is not entirely far-fetched. A 2021 study published in the journal Memory suggests that people can recall memories from when they were as young as two and a half years old, earlier than previously believed. However, it is difficult to pinpoint an exact “earliest memory” for an individual, and several factors such as culture, gender, home environment, and the way the question is asked can impact a person’s recollection.

The idea of Cage’s ability to remember being in utero raises questions as to whether he is misremembering things or pulling people’s legs. However, his statement is not impossible, given the current understanding of human memory.