Nicolas Cage arrested after heated argument with wife in New Orleans

The Snake Eyes star was detained by police at 6:30am on Saturday April 16 and charged with domestic abuse and disturbing the peace.

It's alleged he was severely drunk at the time and his official mugshot shows him apparently swaying to one side and with his eyes closed.

Cage was reportedly released on $11,000 bond later that afternoon - and the money was apparently put up by none other than Duane 'Dog' Chapman.

According to TMZ.com, Cage was handcuffed after an exchange with officers during which he twice dared them to arrest him.

Sources familiar with the situation told the celebrity gossip website that the 47-year-old star was 'very drunk' on the streets of the Big Easy when a cab driver saw him loudly arguing with his wife Alice.

The two were reportedly disagreeing over the exact address of the apartment that they were renting in the city.

The taxi driver alerted cops and claimed that in addition to the screaming and yelling, he saw Cage grab her.

Officers from New Orleans Police Dept arrived and reportedly told the couple to simply go home.

But Cage allegedly made the matter worse by asking police: 'Why don't you just arrest me?'

Officers again told them to leave, but Cage apparently repeated his dare.

At that point, police took Cage into custody and charged him with domestic abuse and disturbing the peace.

The website reports that Alice does not want to press charges and insists there was no physical contact during the incident.

Police also said that there were no visible signs of injury on her arm.