Nicolas Cage has denied he is a vampire after being pressed on a bizarre internet rumor by talk show king David Letterman on The Late Show.

David Letterman produced a picture of Civil War-era Tennessee man from the 1860’s, which an eBay seller had claimed was proof Nicolas Cage is a member of the undead.

Nicolas Cage said: “Now look I don’t drink blood, and last time I looked in the mirror I had a reflection, so I’m not going with his vampire theory. I’m just not going to do it.”

The hilarious exchange started when David Letterman said he wanted to ask Nicolas Cage about “one of those things sweeping the internet”.

He then pulled out the picture, explained its history and wanted to find out Nicolas Cage’s take on the theory.

The 48-year-old said: “Let me say that there is a resemblance, but how can I be polite about this, it’s a somewhat slowed-down version of me.”

David Letterman produced a picture of Civil War-era Tennessee man from the 1860’s, which an eBay seller had claimed was proof Nicolas Cage is a member of the undead

He also pointed out there was a fatal flaw in the reasoning of the enterprising salesman, which went against established lore about the creatures.

Nicolas Cage said: “Except there’s a photograph of me, but you can’t take pictures of vampires.”

Despite his protest though some fans were still insisting online he had just used the chat show as an opportunity for a grand ruse to throw everyone off the scent. One fan Marcela ReRibeiro said on YouTube: “He is a modern vampire, mirrors are not a problem for vampires like Nicolas.”

Nicolas Cage has yet to play a creature of the night on the silver screen, though he did star as a yuppie who thought he was becoming a blood-sucker in 1989’s Vampire’s Kiss.

He is not the only star to have been caught up in a row due to an old picture however.

Weeks after “Nicolas Cage” photo appeared online, another photo from the same era popped up showing a man bearing a strong resemblance to John Travolta.

This was used as proof of claims the Saturday Night Fever favorite was in fact a time traveler.

To date Nicolas Cage, who is a scientologist, has yet to deny his ability to travel backward and forward through time.