John Cassavetes

John Cassavetes

1929-12-09 New York City, New York, USA 73 Credits

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...

Known For

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Complete Filmography

Mass State Lottery

Mass State Lottery

2025

Thanks

A failed private investigator investigates a series of disappearances, and in order to get his way he's even willing to manipulate a grieving mother.

John Cassavetes par Thierry Jousse

John Cassavetes par Thierry Jousse

2024

Acting
150 Miles of Rotting, Rutted, Lumpy, Dilapidated Pavement

150 Miles of Rotting, Rutted, Lumpy, Dilapidated Pavement

2021

as Man Talking

Acting

A Woman Watches People.

Gena Rowlands: A Life on Film

Gena Rowlands: A Life on Film

2019

as Self (archive footage)

7.2
Acting

An intimate portrait of the superb actress Gena Rowlands, icon of independent cinema. Together with her husband, legendary director John Cassavetes (1...

Castanha

2014

Thanks

6.0

Joao is a 50 year old actor who lives with his 72 year old mother, Celina. He spends his time between his work at night as a crossdresser in small gay...

Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films

Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films

2014

as Robert Harmon (archive footage) (uncredited)

7.2
Acting

A documentary about the rise and fall of the Cannon Film Group, the legendary independent film company helmed by Israeli cousins Menahem Golan and Yor...

Before Opening Night

Before Opening Night

2011

Story

5.6
Writing

This Argentinian dramedy gives us elements of Woody Allen’s nervous comedy and Cassavetes’ melodramatic roller coaster in a storm of egos that takes p...

Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

2008

as Guy Woodhouse (archive footage)

6.4
Acting

Examines the public scandal and private tragedy which led to legendary director Roman Polanski's sudden flight from the United States.

Edge of Outside

Edge of Outside

2006

as Self (archive footage)

5.8
Acting

An hour-long documentary designed to celebrate the spirit of the independent filmmaker from D.W. Griffith to Quentin Tarantino. Interview footage and ...

Operation Dirty Dozen

Operation Dirty Dozen

2006

as Self

6.0
Acting

A short film looking behind the scenes at the making of The Dirty Dozen. Showing many scenes being filmed just north of London, the short focuses most...

The Kid Stays in the Picture

The Kid Stays in the Picture

2002

as Self (archive footage)

6.7
Acting

Documentary about legendary Paramount producer Robert Evans, based on his famous 1994 autobiography.

A Constant Forge

A Constant Forge

2000

as Self (archive footage)

6.6
Acting

One of the great mavericks of cinema, John Cassavetes has earned a reputation as the godfather of American independent movies. The actor-turned-filmma...

Gloria

Gloria

1999

Original Film Writer

5.7
Writing

After serving a prison term for her boyfriend, a streetwise, middle-aged moll named Gloria stands up against the mobs, which is complicated by a six-y...

She's So Lovely

She's So Lovely

1997

Writer

5.9
Writing

After being released from a psychiatric institution, a man tries to redeem himself in the eyes of his now-ex wife from the events that led up to his i...

Out of the Shadows: The Films of John Cassavetes

Out of the Shadows: The Films of John Cassavetes

1993

as Self

Acting

Get the scoop on the legendary actor-director-New Yorker John Cassavetes straight from the mouth of his friend, peer and co-star Peter Falk (Columbo) ...

Anything for John

Anything for John

1993

as Self (archive footage)

6.0
Acting

An intimate portrait of actor-writer-director John Cassavetes and a loving tribute to his genius for studying and depicting the human character. In-de...

Arena - John Cassavetes

1989

as Self

Acting

Tribute to actor and director John Cassavetes who died in February 1989. Friends, associates and fellow directors remember the man and his work.

Movies Are My Life

Movies Are My Life

1988

as Self

6.0
Acting

The very first full-length documentary on Scorsese offers an invaluable look at how he was perceived by his colleagues, and himself, in 1977. Catching...

Big Trouble

Big Trouble

1986

Director

5.3
Directing

Leonard Hoffman is an insurance salesman struggling to make ends meet. The fact that he has triplet sons who all want to go to Yale isn't making thing...

Marvin & Tige

Marvin & Tige

1985

as Marvin

5.4
Acting

Marvin, a heavy-drinking widower meets Tige, an 11-year-old orphan. With nowhere else to go, Tige moves in with Marvin and they develop a close friend...

Nederland C

1985

as Self - Portrait of the actor / cinematographer

4.0
Acting
I'm Almost Not Crazy: John Cassavetes — The Man and His Work

I'm Almost Not Crazy: John Cassavetes — The Man and His Work

1984

as Self

8.4
Acting

Filmmaker Michael Ventura follows Cassavetes around as the actor/director labors on his final film, Love Streams.

Love Streams

Love Streams

1984

as Robert Harmon

7.2
Acting

Two closely-bound, emotionally wounded siblings reunite after years apart.

Love Streams

Love Streams

1984

Director, Screenplay

7.2
Directing Writing

Two closely-bound, emotionally wounded siblings reunite after years apart.

Fräulein Berlin

Fräulein Berlin

1984

as himself

Acting

Berlin Underground-star Ulrike S. went to the Toronto-Filmfestival and then to New York - to find out something about the film business and also about...

The Haircut

1982

as Music Industry Executive

7.5
Acting

A music executive stops in for a 15 minute haircut.

Tempest

Tempest

1982

as Phillip

6.0
Acting

A sobering mid-life crisis fuels dissatisfaction in Philip Dimitrius, to the extent where the successful architect trades his marriage and career in f...

Incubus

Incubus

1982

as Dr. Sam Cordell

5.7
Acting

In the small New England town of Galen, a young teenage boy claims he has dreams of young women being brutally raped and murdered. A doctor and the lo...

Incubus

Incubus

1982

Screenplay

5.7
Writing

In the small New England town of Galen, a young teenage boy claims he has dreams of young women being brutally raped and murdered. A doctor and the lo...

Whose Life Is It Anyway?

Whose Life Is It Anyway?

1981

as Dr. Michael Emerson

7.1
Acting

Ken Harrison is an artist that lives to make sculptures. One day he is involved in a car accident, and is paralyzed from his neck down. All he can do ...

Gloria

Gloria

1980

Director, Writer

6.9
Directing Writing

When a young boy's family is killed by the mob, their tough neighbor Gloria becomes his reluctant guardian. In possession of a book that the gangsters...

Flesh & Blood

Flesh & Blood

1979

as Gus Caputo

5.5
Acting

A young street-tough-turned-boxer struggles to reach the top while finding his romance with an attractive TV reporter is complicated by an incestuous ...

Brass Target

Brass Target

1978

as Maj. Joe De Lucca

5.5
Acting

General George S. Patton died in a car accident in 1945. But was his death actually a murder. Is he targeted by Nazis angered by Germany's defeat? Or...

The Fury

The Fury

1978

as Ben Childress

6.3
Acting

When a devious plot separates CIA agent Peter Sandza from his son, Robin, the distraught father manages to see through the ruse. Taken because of his ...

Opening Night

Opening Night

1977

as Maurice Aarons

7.6
Acting

Actress Myrtle Gordon is a functioning alcoholic who is a few days from the opening night of her latest play, concerning a woman distraught about agin...

Opening Night

Opening Night

1977

Writer, Director

7.6
Writing Directing

Actress Myrtle Gordon is a functioning alcoholic who is a few days from the opening night of her latest play, concerning a woman distraught about agin...

Heroes

Heroes

1977

as VA Doctor (uncredited)

6.1
Acting

A Vietnam veteran suffering from post traumatic stress disorder breaks out of a VA hospital and goes on a road trip with a sympathetic traveler to fin...

Mikey and Nicky

Mikey and Nicky

1976

as Nicky

6.9
Acting

Nick is desperate, holed up in a cheap hotel, suffering from an ulcer and convinced that a local mob boss wants him killed. Desperate and terrified, h...

Two-Minute Warning

Two-Minute Warning

1976

as Sgt. Chris Button

6.2
Acting

A psychotic sniper plans a massive killing spree in a Los Angeles football stadium during a major championship game. The police, led by Captain Peter ...

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie

1976

Director, Writer

7.1
Directing Writing

Cosmo Vittelli, the proprietor of a sleazy, low-rent Hollywood cabaret, has a real affection for the women who strip in his peepshows and the staff wh...

Capone

Capone

1975

as Frankie Yale

5.9
Acting

Young Al Capone catches the eye of Johnny Torrio, a criminal visiting New York from Chicago. Torrio invites Capone to move to Illinois to help run his...

A Woman Under the Influence

A Woman Under the Influence

1974

Writer, Director

7.8
Writing Directing

Mabel Longhetti, desperate and lonely, is married to a Los Angeles municipal construction worker, Nick. Increasingly unstable, especially in the compa...

Nightside

Nightside

1973

as Carmine Kelly

Acting

The story of three people - a press agent, a private detective and a nightclub owner - whose careers require them to spend most of the night awake and...

Minnie and Moskowitz

Minnie and Moskowitz

1971

as Jim

6.7
Acting

Depressed and jaded after being dumped by her married boyfriend, aging beauty Minnie Moore wonders if she'll ever find love. After shaggy-haired park...

Minnie and Moskowitz

Minnie and Moskowitz

1971

Director, Writer

6.7
Directing Writing

Depressed and jaded after being dumped by her married boyfriend, aging beauty Minnie Moore wonders if she'll ever find love. After shaggy-haired park...

The Making of 'Husbands'

The Making of 'Husbands'

1971

as Self

Acting

A documentary behind the scenes of John Cassavetes' 'Husbands' (1970).

Husbands

Husbands

1970

as Gus Demetri

6.8
Acting

A common friend's sudden death brings three men, married with children, to reconsider their lives and ultimately leave the country together. But mindl...

Husbands

Husbands

1970

Director, Writer, Editor

6.8
Directing Writing

A common friend's sudden death brings three men, married with children, to reconsider their lives and ultimately leave the country together. But mindl...

If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium

If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium

1969

as Steve

5.8
Acting

A group of travelers from the United States race through seven European countries in 18 days.

Machine Gun McCain

Machine Gun McCain

1969

as Hank McCain

6.2
Acting

After serving 12 years behind bars for armed robbery, tough guy Hank McCain finds himself the pawn of a ruthless mob runt's rebellion against a high l...

"Cinéastes de notre temps": John Cassavetes

"Cinéastes de notre temps": John Cassavetes

1969

Acting

A documentary by André S. Labarthe.

Faces

Faces

1968

Producer, Editor, Director

7.1
Producing Directing Writing

Middle-aged suburban husband Richard abruptly tells his wife, Maria, that he wants a divorce. As Richard takes up with a younger woman, Maria enjoys a...

Bandits in Rome

Bandits in Rome

1968

as Mario Corda

5.0
Acting

After professional stickup man Mario Corda is jailed, his young, ambitious partner -- who covets both Corda's life and his wife -- cuts loose, leaving...

Rosemary's Baby

Rosemary's Baby

1968

as Guy Woodhouse

7.8
Acting

A young couple, Rosemary and Guy, moves into an infamous New York apartment building, known by frightening legends and mysterious events, with the pur...

Alexander The Great

Alexander The Great

1968

as Karonos

5.0
Acting

An historical film that follows the life of Alexander the Great, the Macedonian king that united all ancient Greek tribes and led them against the vas...

The Dirty Dozen

The Dirty Dozen

1967

as Victor Franko

7.6
Acting

12 American military prisoners in World War II are ordered to infiltrate a well-guarded enemy château and kill the Nazi officers vacationing there. Th...

Devil's Angels

Devil's Angels

1967

as Cody

5.2
Acting

A gang of outlaw bikers strike a bargain with the Sheriff of a small beach town; let them stay and the town is safe. But a local girl strays into thei...

The Killers

The Killers

1964

as Johnny North

6.9
Acting

A hit man and his partner try to find out why their latest victim, a former race-car driver, did not try to get away.

A Child Is Waiting

A Child Is Waiting

1963

Director

6.8
Directing

Dr. Matthew Clark is the head of a state institution for intellectually disabled children. Jean Hansen, a former music teacher anxious to give her lif...

The Webster Boy

The Webster Boy

1962

as Vance Miller

Acting

A gambler comes out of prison, returns to his old-flame, and finds that she has a teenage son, who begins to believe that the ex-con is his father.

Too Late Blues

Too Late Blues

1961

Director, Writer, Producer

6.5
Directing Writing Producing

Ghost is an ideological musician and leader of a jazz band who would rather play his blues in the park to the birds than compromise himself. His perip...

Shadows

Shadows

1960

as Pedestrian (uncredited)

6.9
Acting

The relationship between Lelia, a light-skinned black woman, and Tony, a white man is put in jeopardy when Tony meets Lelia’s darker-skinned jazz sing...

Shadows

Shadows

1960

Editor, Director, Writer

6.9
Directing Writing

The relationship between Lelia, a light-skinned black woman, and Tony, a white man is put in jeopardy when Tony meets Lelia’s darker-skinned jazz sing...

Hedda Hopper's Hollywood

Hedda Hopper's Hollywood

1960

as Self

6.0
Acting

A look at the past, present and future of Hollywood as seen through the eyes of the movie columnist.

Virgin Island

Virgin Island

1959

as Evan

5.0
Acting

A British woman marries an American writer in spite of her family's disapproval and goes to live with him on a tropical island.

Saddle the Wind

Saddle the Wind

1958

as Tony Sinclair

6.5
Acting

Steve Sinclair is a world-weary former gunslinger, now living as a peaceful farmer. Things go wrong when his wild younger brother Tony arrives on the ...

Affair in Havana

Affair in Havana

1957

as Nick Douglas

5.2
Acting

While in Havana, a musician gets involved with a crippled man and his beautiful wife... with deadly results.

Edge of the City

Edge of the City

1957

as Axel Nordmann

7.1
Acting

An army deserter and a black dock worker join forces against a corrupt manager.

No Right to Kill

No Right to Kill

1956

as McCloud

Acting

This is a special series of lost classic programs from the Golden Age of TV. The series has been restored by SabuCat Productions from the best archiva...

Crime in the Streets

Crime in the Streets

1956

as Frankie Dane

6.0
Acting

A social worker tries to end juvenile crime by getting involved with a street gang.

The Night Holds Terror

The Night Holds Terror

1955

as Robert Batsford

5.5
Acting

A group of escaped convicts holds a household prisoner as the police close in.

Taxi

Taxi

1953

as Man (uncredited)

6.4
Acting

A New York cab driver helps an Irish immigrant with a baby locate her missing husband.

Fourteen Hours

Fourteen Hours

1951

as Reporter (uncredited)

7.2
Acting

A young man, morally destroyed by his parents not loving him and by the fear of being not capable to make his girlfriend happy, rises on the ledge of ...