John Cassavetes
Biography
John Nicholas Cassavetes (December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. First known as an actor on television and in film, Cassavetes also became a pioneer of American independent cinema, writing and directing movies financed in part with income from his acting work. AllMovie called him "an iconoclastic maverick," while The New Yorker suggested that he "may be the most influential American director of the last half century." As an actor, Cassavetes starred in notable Hollywood films throughout the 1950s and 1960s, including Edge of the City (1957), The Dirty Dozen (1967), and Rosemary's Baby (1968). He began his directing career with the 1959 independent feature Shadows and followed with independent productions such as Faces (1968), Husbands (1970), A Woman Under the Influence (1974), Opening Night (1977), and Love Streams (1984), in addition to intermittent studio work. Cassavetes' films employed an actor-centered approach which privileged character examination over traditional Hollywood storytelling or stylized production values. His films became associated with an improvisational, cinéma vérité aesthetic. He collaborated frequently with a rotating group of friends, crew members, and actors, including his wife Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk, Ben Gazzara, and Seymour Cassel. For his role in The Dirty Dozen, Cassavetes received a Best Supporting Actor nomination. As a filmmaker, he was nominated for Best Original Screenplay for Faces (1968) and Best Director for A Woman Under the Influence (1974).
Known For
Victor Franko
The Dirty Dozen
Guy Woodhouse
Rosemary's Baby
Sgt. Chris Button
Two-Minute Warning
Johnny North
The Killers
Dr. Michael Emerson
Whose Life Is It Anyway?
Ben Childress
The Fury
Maurice Aarons
Opening Night
Nick Douglas
Affair in Havana
Axel Nordmann
Edge of the City
Jim
Minnie and Moskowitz
Frankie Dane
Crime in the Streets
Robert Batsford
The Night Holds Terror
Hank McCain
Gli intoccabili
Phillip
Tempest
Frankie Yale
Capone
Gus Demetri
Husbands
Robert Harmon
Love Streams
Maj. Joe De Lucca
Brass Target
Cody
Devil's Angels
Self
Out of the Shadows: The Films of John Cassavetes
Tony Sinclair
Saddle the Wind
Nicky
Mikey and Nicky
Dr. Sam Cordell
Incubus
Self (archive footage)
Anything for John
Guy Woodhouse (archive footage)
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
Marvin
Marvin & Tige
Evan
Virgin Island
Self
The Making of 'Husbands'
Karonos
Alexander The Great
Mario Corda
Roma come Chicago
VA Doctor (uncredited)
Heroes
Man (uncredited)
Taxi
Music Industry Executive
The Haircut
Self
Operation Dirty Dozen
Gus Caputo
Flesh & Blood
Self
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
himself
Fräulein Berlin
Self - Portrait of the actor / cinematographer
Nederland C
Self
Movies Are My Life
Self
I'm Almost Not Crazy: John Cassavetes — The Man and His Work
Self
Arena - John Cassavetes
Self (archive footage)
A Constant Forge
Self (archive footage)
Gena Rowlands — Unabhängig im Kino und im Leben
Vance Miller
The Webster Boy
McCloud
No Right to Kill
Man Talking
150 Miles of Rotting, Rutted, Lumpy, Dilapidated Pavement
Steve
If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium
Carmine Kelly
Nightside
Reporter (uncredited)
Fourteen Hours
Pedestrian (uncredited)
Shadows
John Cassavetes par Thierry Jousse
"Cinéastes de notre temps": John Cassavetes
Robert Harmon (archive footage) (uncredited)
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films
Self (archive footage)
Black Baby
Duke Bellingham
8 Husbands
Personal Info
Known For
Directing
Known Credits
55
Gender
Male
Birthday
1929-12-09
Place of Birth
New York City, New York, USA
Also Known As
John Nicholas Cassavetes