Washington, May 4 -- Nicolas Cage had a harrowing experience while training for his new film, 'The Surfer,' which is now in theatres.

According to Variety, the actor nearly encountered a shark and got stuck in a rip tide while surfing, an experience he described as potentially life-threatening.

Cage revealed that his surfing lessons were more challenging than he anticipated.

Despite having some experience with surfing, he struggled to navigate the waves and was eventually "pounded to smithereens."

He recounted the terrifying moment when he got stuck in a rip tide, saying, "I'm climbing up the leash as I'm somersaulting, and I could have died," as quoted by Variety.

The close call has left Cage reevaluating his priorities, especially ...