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John Cusack

 
John Cusack

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John Cusack



 
 
John Paul Cusack (born June 28, 1966) is an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 film actor and screenwriter
Screenwriter

Screenwriters or scenarists are scriptwriters who write the screenplays from which films and television programs are made.Most screenwriters start their careers writing on speculation....
. He won the 1990 Most Promising Actor CFCA Award for Say Anything..., the 1998 Favorite Supporting Actor Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Con Air
Con Air

Con Air is a 1997 in film Cinema of the United States Action film/Thriller film by Touchstone Pictures that stars Nicolas Cage, John Cusack and John Malkovich....
, and the 2000 Commitment to Chicago Award.

ck was born in Evanston, Illinois
Evanston, Illinois

Evanston, Illinois is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois, Illinois directly north of the Chicago, Illinois, east of Skokie, Illinois, and south of Wilmette, Illinois, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003....
, to an Irish American
Irish American

Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can claim ancestry originating in Ireland. A total of 36,495,800 Americans reported Irish ancestry in the 2006 American Community Survey....
 Catholic
Catholic

Catholic is an adjective derived from the Greek language adjective , meaning "whole" or "complete". In the context of Christianity ecclesiology, it has a rich history and several usages....
 family. His father, Dick Cusack
Dick Cusack

Dick Cusack was an United States award-winning film actor and filmmaker....
 (1925—2003), and siblings Ann
Ann Cusack

Ann Cusack is an United States of America actor....
, Joan
Joan Cusack

Joan Mary Cusack is an Academy Awards-nominated United States actor and comedian....
, Bill
Bill Cusack

William "Bill" Cusack is an United States actor.Cusack was born in Evanston, Illinois, to an Irish American Catholic family. His father, Dick Cusack , as well as his siblings Ann Cusack, Joan Cusack, John Cusack, and Susie Cusack have also been actors; his father was also a Documentary film filmmaker, owned a film production company and wa...
, and Susie
Susie Cusack

Susie Cusack is an United States actress.Cusack is the daughter of Dick Cusack and sister of Ann Cusack, Joan Cusack, Bill Cusack, and John Cusack....
 have also been actors; his father was also a documentary
Documentary film

Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to "document" reality. Although "documentary film" originally referred to movies shot on film stock, it has subsequently expanded to include video and new media productions that can be either direct-to-video or made for a televis...
 filmmaker, owned a film production company, and was a friend of activist Philip Berrigan
Philip Berrigan

Philip Berrigan was an internationally renowned United States peace activist, Christian anarchism and former Roman Catholic Church priest. Along with his brother Daniel Berrigan, he was for a time on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list for acts of vandalism including destruction of government property....
.






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John Paul Cusack (born June 28, 1966) is an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 film actor and screenwriter
Screenwriter

Screenwriters or scenarists are scriptwriters who write the screenplays from which films and television programs are made.Most screenwriters start their careers writing on speculation....
. He won the 1990 Most Promising Actor CFCA Award for Say Anything..., the 1998 Favorite Supporting Actor Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Con Air
Con Air

Con Air is a 1997 in film Cinema of the United States Action film/Thriller film by Touchstone Pictures that stars Nicolas Cage, John Cusack and John Malkovich....
, and the 2000 Commitment to Chicago Award.

Biography


Early life

Cusack was born in Evanston, Illinois
Evanston, Illinois

Evanston, Illinois is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois, Illinois directly north of the Chicago, Illinois, east of Skokie, Illinois, and south of Wilmette, Illinois, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003....
, to an Irish American
Irish American

Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can claim ancestry originating in Ireland. A total of 36,495,800 Americans reported Irish ancestry in the 2006 American Community Survey....
 Catholic
Catholic

Catholic is an adjective derived from the Greek language adjective , meaning "whole" or "complete". In the context of Christianity ecclesiology, it has a rich history and several usages....
 family. His father, Dick Cusack
Dick Cusack

Dick Cusack was an United States award-winning film actor and filmmaker....
 (1925—2003), and siblings Ann
Ann Cusack

Ann Cusack is an United States of America actor....
, Joan
Joan Cusack

Joan Mary Cusack is an Academy Awards-nominated United States actor and comedian....
, Bill
Bill Cusack

William "Bill" Cusack is an United States actor.Cusack was born in Evanston, Illinois, to an Irish American Catholic family. His father, Dick Cusack , as well as his siblings Ann Cusack, Joan Cusack, John Cusack, and Susie Cusack have also been actors; his father was also a Documentary film filmmaker, owned a film production company and wa...
, and Susie
Susie Cusack

Susie Cusack is an United States actress.Cusack is the daughter of Dick Cusack and sister of Ann Cusack, Joan Cusack, Bill Cusack, and John Cusack....
 have also been actors; his father was also a documentary
Documentary film

Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to "document" reality. Although "documentary film" originally referred to movies shot on film stock, it has subsequently expanded to include video and new media productions that can be either direct-to-video or made for a televis...
 filmmaker, owned a film production company, and was a friend of activist Philip Berrigan
Philip Berrigan

Philip Berrigan was an internationally renowned United States peace activist, Christian anarchism and former Roman Catholic Church priest. Along with his brother Daniel Berrigan, he was for a time on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list for acts of vandalism including destruction of government property....
. Cusack's mother, Nancy, is a former mathematics
Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, structure, space, change, and related topics of pattern and form. Mathematicians seek out patterns whether found in numbers, space, natural science, computers, imaginary abstractions, or elsewhere....
 teacher and political activist. Cusack spent a year at New York University
New York University

New York University is a private university, nonsectarian, research university in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan....
 before dropping out, saying that he had "too much fire in his belly".

Career

Cusack gained fame in the mid-1980s after appearing in teen movies such as Better Off Dead, The Sure Thing
The Sure Thing

The Sure Thing is a 1985 romantic comedy directed by Rob Reiner and written by Stephen L. Bloom and Jonathan Roberts . It features John Cusack, Daphne Zuniga, Anthony Edwards, Tim Robbins, Boyd Gaines, and Nicollette Sheridan....
, One Crazy Summer
One Crazy Summer

One Crazy Summer is a 1986 in film comedy movie starring John Cusack, Demi Moore, Bob Goldthwait, Curtis Armstrong, and Joel Murray. The movie was written and directed by Savage Steve Holland....
, and Sixteen Candles
Sixteen Candles

Sixteen Candles is a 1984 in film coming-of-age film starring Molly Ringwald, Michael Schoeffling and Anthony Michael Hall. The film was written and directed by John Hughes , and is often associated with the beginning of the Brat Pack ....
. Cusack made a cameo in the 1988 music video for "Trip At The Brain" by Suicidal Tendencies
Suicidal Tendencies

Suicidal Tendencies is an American hardcore punk and Heavy metal music band. They were formed in Venice, Los Angeles, California, in 1981 by the leader and only permanent member, singer Mike Muir....
. His biggest success in that genre is arguably his starring role as Lloyd Dobler in Cameron Crowe
Cameron Crowe

Cameron Bruce Crowe is an Academy Award-winning United States screenwriter and film director. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, for which he still frequently writes....
's Say Anything. His roles broadened in the late 1980s and early 1990s with more serious-minded fare such as the political satire True Colors
True Colors (1991 film)

True Colors is a film written by Kevin Wade and directed by Herbert Ross. The cast included John Cusack, James Spader and Richard Widmark in his final movie role....
 and the film noir
Film noir

Film noir is a film term used primarily to describe stylish cinema of the United States Crime film, particularly those that emphasize moral ambiguity and sexual motivation....
 thriller The Grifters
The Grifters (film)

The Grifters is a 1990 neo-noir film directed by Stephen Frears and produced by Martin Scorsese. It is based upon The Grifters, a pulp novel by Jim Thompson ....
.

Cusack became a proven box office
Box office

A box office is a place where Ticket s are sold to the public for admission to a venue. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall, or at a wicket ....
 success with his roles in the dark comedy Grosse Pointe Blank
Grosse Pointe Blank

Grosse Pointe Blank is a 1997 in film United States comedy movie, directed by George Armitage, and starring John Cusack and Minnie Driver....
 and the Jerry Bruckheimer
Jerry Bruckheimer

Jerome Leon Bruckheimer , better known by his professional name Jerry Bruckheimer, is an United States film producer and television producer....
 blockbuster Con Air
Con Air

Con Air is a 1997 in film Cinema of the United States Action film/Thriller film by Touchstone Pictures that stars Nicolas Cage, John Cusack and John Malkovich....
. In the years hence, his range of films has diversified, appearing in roles such as an obsessive puppeteer in Being John Malkovich
Being John Malkovich

Being John Malkovich is a 1999 in film film written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Spike Jonze. It stars John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, and Catherine Keener, as well as the actor John Malkovich, who plays a fictionalized version of himself....
, a lovelorn record store owner in High Fidelity
High Fidelity (film)

High Fidelity is a 2000 film directed by Stephen Frears and starring John Cusack. The film is based on the 1995 British High Fidelity by Nick Hornby....
, and a Jew
Jew

A Jew is a member of the Jewish people, an ethnoreligious group that traces its ancestry to the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East....
ish art dealer mentoring a young Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born Germany politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party....
 in Max
Max (film)

Max is a 2002 fictional drama film, that depicts a friendship between art dealer Max Rothman and a young painter, Adolf Hitler....
. He starred in the horror film
Horror film

Horror films are movies that strive to elicit responses of fear, horror and terror from viewers. Their plots frequently involve themes of the supernatural....
 1408
1408 (film)

1408 is a 2007 horror film based on the Stephen King 1408 directed by Sweden film director Mikael H?fstr?m, who earlier had directed the horror film Strandvaskaren....
, based on Stephen King
Stephen King

Stephen Edwin King is an United States author of contemporary horror fiction, fantasy fiction and science fiction.Having sold an estimated List of bestselling fiction authors of his books, King is best known for his work in horror fiction, in which he demonstrates a thorough knowledge of the genre's history....
's short story
1408 (short story)

"1408" is the second in the audiobook collection titled Blood and Smoke, by Stephen King, released in 1999. In 2002, it was reprinted in written form as the twelfth story in the compilation Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales....
 of the same name. He next appeared as a widowed father in the Iraq War
Iraq War

The Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War, the Occupation of Iraq, and Operation Iraqi Freedom, is an ongoing conflicts military campaign which began on March 20, 2003 with the 2003 invasion of Iraq by a Multinational force in Iraq now led by and composed almost entirely of troops from the United States and United King...
-themed drama Grace is Gone
Grace Is Gone (film)

Grace Is Gone is a 2007 in film drama film starring John Cusack as a father who does not want to tell his two daughters that their mother has died while serving in Iraq....
 and as assassin Brand Hauser in the dark political satire, War, Inc.
War, Inc.

War, Inc. is a 2008 political satire film starring John Cusack and Hilary Duff and directed by Joshua Seftel. Cusack also co-wrote and produced the film....
, along with Hilary Duff
Hilary Duff

Hilary Erhard Duff is an People of the United States of America actress and singer-songwriter. After working in local theater plays and television commercials in her childhood, Duff gained fame for playing the title role in the television series Lizzie McGuire....
 and Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei

Marisa Tomei is an American theatre, film and television actress. Tomei first came to prominence as a supporting cast member on The Cosby Show television spin-off A Different World , and rose to fame following an Academy Award-winning performance in the 1992 comedy film My Cousin Vinny....
.

His sister Joan Cusack and close friend Jeremy Piven
Jeremy Piven

Jeremy Samuel Piven is a three-time Emmy Award- and Golden Globe Award-winning American actor. He is best known for his role as Ari Gold on the critically acclaimed HBO television series Entourage ....
 have appeared in many of his films. The siblings appeared as two geeks in Sixteen Candles
Sixteen Candles

Sixteen Candles is a 1984 in film coming-of-age film starring Molly Ringwald, Michael Schoeffling and Anthony Michael Hall. The film was written and directed by John Hughes , and is often associated with the beginning of the Brat Pack ....
: John as one of Farmer Ted's posse, and Joan as the geek with the neck brace. They also appeared together in High Fidelity
High Fidelity (film)

High Fidelity is a 2000 film directed by Stephen Frears and starring John Cusack. The film is based on the 1995 British High Fidelity by Nick Hornby....
, Grosse Pointe Blank
Grosse Pointe Blank

Grosse Pointe Blank is a 1997 in film United States comedy movie, directed by George Armitage, and starring John Cusack and Minnie Driver....
, Cradle Will Rock
Cradle Will Rock

| name = Cradle Will Rock| image = Cradle will rock2.jpg| caption = DVD cover| director = Tim Robbins| producer = Tim Robbins| writer = Tim Robbins...
, Martian Child
Martian Child

Martian Child is a 2007 in film comedy-drama film about a David Gerrold who adopts a strange young boy who believes he is from Mars. Martian Child was released on November 2, 2007....
, Say Anything, and War, Inc.
War, Inc.

War, Inc. is a 2008 political satire film starring John Cusack and Hilary Duff and directed by Joshua Seftel. Cusack also co-wrote and produced the film....
. Piven and Cusack played opposite one another in One Crazy Summer
One Crazy Summer

One Crazy Summer is a 1986 in film comedy movie starring John Cusack, Demi Moore, Bob Goldthwait, Curtis Armstrong, and Joel Murray. The movie was written and directed by Savage Steve Holland....
, Serendipity
Serendipity (film)

Serendipity is a 2001 in film romantic comedy film, starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. It is written by Marc Klein and directed by Peter Chelsom....
, and Grosse Pointe Blank
Grosse Pointe Blank

Grosse Pointe Blank is a 1997 in film United States comedy movie, directed by George Armitage, and starring John Cusack and Minnie Driver....
. Cusack also had a brief cameo, seen from behind but speaking a line of dialogue, in Broadcast News, in which Joan also appeared. Piven also had roles in Say Anything, The Grifters and Runaway Jury.

Cusack will next be seen in Roland Emmerich
Roland Emmerich

Roland Emmerich is a Germany film director, screenwriter and film producer, known for his disaster film and action films....
's disaster film, 2012, as Jackson Curtis, a book writer and limo driver.

Personal and political life

Since May 2005, Cusack has been an occasional contributing blogger at The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post

The Huffington Post is a Modern liberalism in the United States news website and aggregated weblog founded by Arianna Huffington and Kenneth Lerer, featuring various news sources and columnists....
, including an interview with Naomi Klein
Naomi Klein

Naomi Klein is a Canada journalist, author and Activism well known for her political analyses and criticism of corporate globalization....
. He has written extensively on his opposition to the war in Iraq
Iraq War

The Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War, the Occupation of Iraq, and Operation Iraqi Freedom, is an ongoing conflicts military campaign which began on March 20, 2003 with the 2003 invasion of Iraq by a Multinational force in Iraq now led by and composed almost entirely of troops from the United States and United King...
 and his disdain for the Bush administration
George W. Bush administration

The Presidency of George W. Bush began on his George W. Bush 2001 presidential inauguration on January 20, 2001 as the 43rd President of the United States....
, calling its worldview "depressing, corrupt, unlawful, and tragically absurd". He also appeared in a June 2008 Moveon.org ad, where he makes the claim that George W. Bush
George W. Bush

George Walker Bush served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 2001 to 2009. He was the 46th List of Governors of Texas from 1995 to 2000 before being United States presidential inauguration as President on January 20, 2001....
 and John McCain
John McCain

John Sidney McCain III is the senior senator United States United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican Party presidential nominee in the 2008 United States presidential election....
 have the same governing priorities.

Cusack has an allegiance to both the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball franchise based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members and currently the two-time defending champions of the National League Central of Major League Baseball's National League....
 and the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox are a Major North American professional sports teams baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The White Sox presently play in the American League's American League Central in Major League Baseball....
, for which, he says, he's "in trouble there for that." He has led the crowd in a performance of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Take Me Out to the Ball Game

"Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is an early-20th century Tin Pan Alley song which became the unofficial anthem of baseball although neither of its authors had attended a game prior to writing the song....
" at Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field

Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales....
.

In 2008, police arrested a woman suspected of stalking
Stalking

Stalking is a controversial pejorative term applied to the behaviour of individuals towards others which has no universally accepted definition....
 Cusack. On October 10, 2008, the woman pleaded no contest
Nolo contendere

is a legal term that comes from the Latin for "I do not wish to contend." It is also referred to as a plea of "No Contest."In criminal trial , and in some common law jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a Criminal charge, serving as an alternative to a pleading of guilt or acquittal....
 and received five years probation, mandatory psychiatric counseling, and was ordered to avoid Cusack, his home and business for the next 10 years.

Filmography


External links

  • at Allmovie