JOHN CUSACK

'John Paul Cusack' (born June 28, 1966) is an American film actor and writer.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Career

Personal life

Filmography

References

External links

Biography

Early life

Cusack was born in Evanston, Illinois to an Irish American Catholic family.^[1][2] His father, Dick Cusack (1925-2003), as well as his siblings Ann, Bill, Joan, and Susie have also been actors; his father was also a documentary filmmaker,^[3] owned a film production company^[4] and was a friend of activist Philip Berrigan.^[5] Cusack's mother, Nancy, is a former mathematics teacher and political activist. Cusack spent a year at New York University before dropping out, saying that he had "too much fire in [his] belly."

Career

Cusack first became famous in the mid-1980s for appearing in teen movies such as ''Better Off Dead'', ''The Sure Thing'' and ''One Crazy Summer''. Cusack made a cameo in the 1988 music video for "Trip At The Brain" by Suicidal Tendencies. His biggest success in that genre is arguably his starring role as Lloyd Dobler in Cameron Crowe's ''Say Anything''. He began broadening his choice of roles in the late 1980s and early 1990s with more serious-minded fare, such as the political satire ''True Colors'' and the ''noir'' thriller ''The Grifters''.
Cusack became a proven box office success with his roles in the black comedy ''Grosse Pointe Blank'' and the Jerry Bruckheimer blockbuster ''Con Air''. He has since chosen a diverse range of roles, such as an obsessive puppeteer in ''Being John Malkovich'', a lovelorn record store owner in ''High Fidelity'', and a Jewish art dealer mentoring a young Adolf Hitler in ''Max''. He appeared as a terrified writer in the horror film ''1408'', based on Stephen King's short story of the same name. He will next appear as a widowed father in the Iraq War-themed drama ''Grace is Gone'' and as assassin Brand Hauser in the dark political satire, ''War, Inc.'', along with Hilary Duff and his sister Joan.
His sister, Joan, and his close friend Jeremy Piven, have appeared in many of his films. He and Joan Cusack appeared as two geeks in the brat pack film ''Sixteen Candles'': John as one of Farmer Ted's henchmen, and Joan as the geek with the neck brace. Joan and John also appear together in the 2007 movie ''The Martian Child'', as well as ''High Fidelity'', ''Grosse Pointe Blank'', and ''Say Anything''.

Personal life

Cusack is fiercely protective of his private life and rarely makes public appearances between his films or events. He has said that "celebrity is the worst thing that can happen to an actor".
Since May 2005, he has been a contributing at ''The Huffington Post'', although his latest post is dated later that year. He has written extensively on his opposition to the war in Iraq and his disdain for the Bush administration, calling their worldview "depressing, corrupt, unlawful, and tragically absurd".^[6]
Cusack is a huge fan of the Chicago Cubs, and has led the crowd singing "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" during the 7th Inning Stretch at Wrigley Field on at least one occasion. He was trained in kickboxing by Benny Urquidez for ''Grosse Pointe Blank''. He still continues his training with Urquidez. He began training as a kickboxer for the film ''Say Anything'' in which Cusack's character, Lloyd Dobler, is an amateur kickboxer who has just graduated from high school.
Cusack is an avid fan of The Clash and often appears in films with a Clash T-shirt.

Filmography

★ ''Class'' (1983)

★ ''Sixteen Candles'' (1984)

★ ''Grandview, U.S.A.'' (1984)

★ ''The Sure Thing'' (1985)

★ ''The Journey of Natty Gann'' (1985)

★ ''Better Off Dead'' (1985)

★ ''Stand by Me'' (1986)

★ ''One Crazy Summer'' (1986)

★ ''Hot Pursuit'' (1987)

★ ''Eight Men Out'' (1988)

★ ''Tapeheads'' (1988)

★ ''Elvis Stories'' (1989) (short subject)

★ ''Say Anything'' (1989)

★ ''Fat Man and Little Boy'' (1989)

★ ''The Grifters'' (1990)

★ ''True Colors'' (1991)

★ ''Shadows and Fog'' (1992)

★ ''The Player'' (1992) (Cameo)

★ ''Bob Roberts'' (1992)

★ ''Roadside Prophets'' (1992)

★ ''Map of the Human Heart'' (1993)

★ ''Money for Nothing'' (1993)

★ ''Floundering'' (1994)

★ ''Bullets Over Broadway'' (1994)

★ ''The Road to Wellville'' (1994)

★ ''City Hall'' (1996)

★ ''Grosse Pointe Blank'' (1997)

★ ''Con Air'' (1997)

★ ''Anastasia'' (1997) (voice)

★ ''Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'' (1997)

★ ''Chicago Cab'' (1998)

★ ''This Is My Father'' (1998)

★ ''The Thin Red Line'' (1998)

★ ''Pushing Tin'' (1999)

★ ''Cradle Will Rock'' (1999)

★ ''Being John Malkovich'' (1999)

★ ''The Jack Bull'' (1999)

★ ''High Fidelity'' (2000)

★ ''America's Sweethearts'' (2001)

★ ''Serendipity'' (2001)

★ ''Max'' (2002)

★ ''Adaptation.'' (2002) (Cameo)

★ ''Identity'' (2003)

★ ''Breakfast With Hunter'' (2003) (documentary)

★ ''Runaway Jury'' (2003)

★ ''Must Love Dogs'' (2005)

★ ''The Ice Harvest'' (2005)

★ ''Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride: Hunter S. Thompson on Film'' (2006) (documentary)

★ ''Summerhood'' (2006) (documentary) (narrator)

★ ''The Contract'' (2006)

★ ''1408'' (2007)
Upcoming:

★ ''The Martian Child'' (2007)

★ ''Cosmic Banditos'' (2007)

★ ''Grace Is Gone'' (2007)

★ ''War, Inc.'' (2007)

★ ''Talking with Dog'' (2008)

References

1. http://www.iofilm.co.uk/feats/interviews/j/john_cusack.shtml
2. http://movies.about.com/library/weekly/aamaxinta.htm
3. http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,3605,338266,00.html
4. http://www.filmreference.com/film/28/John-Cusack.html
5. http://www.beliefnet.com/story/120/story_12015_1.html
6. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-cusack/

External links

★

★

★ Interview with Cusack on NPR's ''Fresh Air''

★ Cusack's writings on the Huffington Post''

★ ''Being John Cusack'' - ''The Guardian'', July 1, 2000. Interview and profile.

★ Article about Cusack at the All Movie Guide''

★ John Cusack Interview

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