On screen, he has battled everything from hardened convicts to vast conspiracies. Now Nicolas Cage is tangling with what may prove to be his toughest foe: the IRS.

The government has placed a tax lien on his vast real estate holdings because of $6 million in unpaid back taxes dating from 2007, the year of the 45-year-old actor's box office hits Ghost Rider and National Treasure: Book of Secrets, according to court papers.

In addition, the Internal Revenue Service has yet another lien for over $350,000 in unpaid taxes dating from 2002 to 2004.

The larger tax lien, which was first filed in July, comes as Cage has begun liquidating his many legendary multimillion-dollar properties. He sold his castle in Germany, and has placed on the market his homes in California, Las Vegas, and New Orleans.

Cage is dealing with more than the tax collector. East West Bank filed a breach of contract complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court claiming he had failed to repay a $2 million loan that was extended this past August.

His reps didn't immediately comment.