Nicolas Cage was recently presented with a lifetime achievement by Tom Waits at the SFFilm Awards in San Francisco.
Waits made a rare surprise public appearance at the ceremony earlier this week, prompting gasps and wild applause, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Cage, 59, first worked with Waits, 74, when he was 19 years old, when the pair co-starred in the 1983 film Rumble Fish.
"He was the same as a teenager," the Anywhere I Lay My Head singer said of Cage while presenting him with the Maria Manetti Shrem Lifetime Achievement Award for Acting.
"It was troublesome for his family and other people around him. He needed some kind of a swimming pool to put that (talent) all in, and I'm sure glad that he has that now."
During his speech, the Hell Broke Luce musician also revealed that prior to working together on Rumble Fish, Cage had worked as his driver.
In a 2010 interview with NME, Cage named Waits as his musical hero.
