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).

Filmography

• 2025Mass State Lottery — Thanks
• 2024John Cassavetes par Thierry Jousse
• 2021150 Miles of Rotting, Rutted, Lumpy, Dilapidated Pavement — Man Talking
• 2014Castanha — Thanks
• 2011Before Opening Night — Story
• 2008Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired — Guy Woodhouse (archive footage)
• 2006Opening Night — Original Story
• 1999Gloria — Original Film Writer
• 1997She's So Lovely — Writer
• 1986Big Trouble — Director
• 1985Marvin & Tige — Marvin
• 1984Love Streams — Robert Harmon, Director, Screenplay
• 1982Incubus — Dr. Sam Cordell, Screenplay
• 1982Tempest — Phillip
• 1982The Haircut — Music Industry Executive
• 1981Whose Life Is It Anyway? — Dr. Michael Emerson
• 1980Gloria — Director, Writer
• 1979Flesh & Blood — Gus Caputo
• Flesh & Blood — Gus Caputo
• 1978Brass Target — Maj. Joe De Lucca
• 1978The Fury — Ben Childress
• 1977Heroes — VA Doctor (uncredited)
• 1977Opening Night — Maurice Aarons, Director, Writer
• 1976Mikey and Nicky — Nicky
• 1976The Killing of a Chinese Bookie — Director, Writer
• 1976Two-Minute Warning — Sgt. Chris Button
• 1975Capone — Frankie Yale
• 1974A Woman Under the Influence — Writer, Director
• 1973Nightside — Carmine Kelly
• Columbo — Alex Benedict
• 1971Minnie and Moskowitz — Jim, Director, Writer
• 1970Husbands — Gus Demetri, Director, Writer, Editor
• 1969If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium — Steve
• 1969Machine Gun McCain — Hank McCain
• 1968Alexander The Great — Karonos
• 1968Bandits in Rome — Mario Corda
• 1968Faces — Director, Editor, Producer, Writer
• 1968Rosemary's Baby — Guy Woodhouse
• 1967Devil's Angels — Cody
• 1967The Dirty Dozen — Victor Franko
• The Legend of Jesse James — Blackie Dolan
• Profiles in Courage — Parsons
• 1964The Killers — Johnny North
• Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
• 1963A Child Is Waiting — Director
• Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
• Burke's Law — Eddie Dineen, Alfred Algernon, Stephen Collins, Carlos de Vega
• Channing — Lloyd Sullivan
• Kraft Suspense Theatre — Peter Chandler
• Combat! — Kalb
• The Alfred Hitchcock Hour — Rusty Connors, Lee Griffin
• The Lloyd Bridges Show — Director
• The Virginian — Jonah MacIntosh
• 1962The Webster Boy — Vance Miller
• Dr. Kildare — Makin Saund
• 1961Too Late Blues — Writer, Director, Producer
• 1960Shadows — Pedestrian (uncredited), Writer, Director, Editor
• Johnny Staccato — Johnny Staccato, Director
• Rawhide — Cal Fletcher
• 1959Virgin Island — Evan
• 1958Saddle the Wind — Tony Sinclair
• 1957Affair in Havana — Nick Douglas
• 1957Edge of the City — Axel Nordmann
• 1956Crime in the Streets — Frankie Dane
• 1956No Right to Kill — McCloud
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents — Sam Cobbett
• Appointment with Adventure — Danny Loomis
• The 20th Century Fox Hour — Max Markheim
• 1955The Night Holds Terror — Robert Batsford
• Climax! — Malcolm McCloud, Abel Winter
• General Electric Theater — Johnny
• 1953Taxi — Man (uncredited)
• The United States Steel Hour — Johnny
• Omnibus — Pepe
• 1951Fourteen Hours — Reporter (uncredited)
• Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
• Robert Montgomery Presents
• Studio One — Paul Greco
• The Philco Television Playhouse

Appearances as themselves (21)

• 2019Gena Rowlands: A Life on Film — Self (archive footage)
• 2019Peter Falk versus Columbo — Self (archive footage)
• Iconic Couples of Hollywood — Self (archive footage)
• 2006Operation Dirty Dozen — Self
• 2000A Constant Forge — Self (archive footage)
• 1993Anything for John — Self (archive footage)
• 1993Out of the Shadows: The Films of John Cassavetes — Self
• 1989Arena - John Cassavetes — Self
• 1988Movies Are My Life — Self
• 1985Nederland C — Self - Portrait of the actor / cinematographer
• 1984Fräulein Berlin — himself
• 1984I'm Almost Not Crazy: John Cassavetes — The Man and His Work — Self
• Les Rendez-vous du dimanche — Self
• 1971The Making of 'Husbands' — Self
• The Dick Cavett Show — Self - Guest
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson — Self
• The Mike Douglas Show — Self
• 1960Hedda Hopper's Hollywood — Self
• The Dick Clark Show — Self
• The Ed Sullivan Show — Self
• Golden Globe Awards — Self - Nominee, Self - Presenter