The Baddest Seed

As he says this, Cave sprays his hands apart like an explosion. He takes the last drag of his cigarette and stubs it out. ''The only way I can describe it is it's like an addiction.''

CAVE CLASSICS
Three albums that best explore the artist's emotional depth

LET LOVE IN (1994)
If you put every great Cave song into a press and distilled them to their essence, you'd be left with the sinister ''Red Right Hand.''

THE BOATMAN'S CALL (1997)
A beautifully pared-down exploration of love and faith, Boatman's Call also features one of Cave's favorite songs, ''People Ain't No Good.''

NOCTURAMA (2003)
Opening with the achingly optimistic ''Wonderful Life,'' Nocturama raises the question, Is Nick Cave finally happy? Not on your life.

FALL OF ROME
Cave's Gladiator 2 script vexed Russell Crowe and company

After finishing The Proposition, Nick Cave got a phone call from Russell Crowe, an old acquaintance, to see if he was interested in writing a Gladiator sequel. ''I said, 'Look, mate, you died in the first one, how are you going to do that?''' Director Ridley Scott suggested Cave watch Ingmar Bergman films for inspiration. But Cave may have been too inspired by the cryptic Swedish director. Here's what he came up with: ''Maximus becomes a warrior who can never die — an eternal warrior. At the end is this 20-minute war sequence where he rubs his hands in the earth and each time he stands up he's in another war. It goes on and on through history, [including] Vietnam.'' Needless to say, Cave's Gladiator 2 won't be coming to a theater near you. ''Russell didn't like it, basically because the Gladiator walks around in a complete daze for the whole film.''