As there is a traffic jam on the road, Sailor begins to run over the roofs and hoods of the cars to get back to Lula and their child in the car. Sailor sings "Love Me Tender" to Lula, having earlier said that he would only sing that song to his wife. Cast Nicolas Cage as "Sailor" Ripley: the actor described his character as "a kind of romantic Southern outlaw". Cage said in an interview that he was "always attracted to those passionate, almost unbridled romantic characters, and Sailor had that more than any other role I'd played." Prior to being cast in the film, Cage had met Lynch several times at Musso & Frank Grill, which they both frequented. When Lynch read Gifford's novel, he immediately wanted Cage to play Sailor. Laura Dern as Lula Pace Fortune: previously, Dern had played a supporting role in Lynch's film, Blue Velvet. For Dern, Wild at Heart was the first opportunity she had "to play not only a very sexual person, but also someone who was, in her own way, incredibly comfortable with herself". When Lynch read Gifford's novel, he immediately thought of Dern to play Lula. Diane Ladd as Marietta Fortune, Lula's overbearing mother, who forbids Lula and Sailor's relationship; she forms a grudge against Sailor after he rejects her advances. Ladd and Dern are mother and daughter in real life. Willem Dafoe as Bobby Peru Harry Dean Stanton as Johnnie Farragut Isabella Rossellini as Perdita Durango Calvin Lockhart as Reggie J. E. Freeman as Marcellus Santos W. Morgan Sheppard as Mr. Reindeer Crispin Glover as Dell Grace Zabriskie as Juana Durango Marvin Kaplan as Uncle Pooch David Patrick Kelly as "Dropshadow" Freddie Jones as George Kovich John Lurie as "Sparky" Jack Nance as "00 Spool" Pruitt Taylor Vince as Buddy Sherilyn Fenn as Girl In Accident Frances Bay as Madam Frank Collison as Timmy Thompson Sheryl Lee as The Good Witch Charlie Spradling as Irma Peter Bromilow as Hotel Manager Sally Boyle as Aunt Rootie Gregg Dandridge as Bobby Ray Lemon Koko Taylor as Zanzibar Singer Production In the summer of 1989, Lynch had finished the pilot episode for the successful television series Twin Peaks, and tried to rescue two of his projects—Ronnie Rocket and One Saliva Bubble—both involved in contractual complications as a result of the bankruptcy of Dino De Laurentiis, which had been bought by Carolco Pictures. Lynch