United Kingdom, May 4 -- Nicolas Cage "feared" surfers during his younger years.

The 61-year-old actor stars in the new psychological thriller film 'The Surfer', and Nicolas has explained how the movie relates to his own childhood in California.

Recalling spending weekends at Santa Monica Pier, Nicolas told 'Extra': "I was quite young, but I knew that I wasn't going to be able to get past the group that was surfing, or, you know, the line, if you will. It was quite intimidating.

"I had a lot of admiration for surfers and for what they do, but I also feared them as a young man because they were pretty jacked up, both mentally and physically."

In the new movie, Nicolas plays a man who revisits his childhood beach to surf with his son. T...