Biography
John Paul Cusack (born June 28, 1966) is an American actor. Cusack began acting in films during the 1980s, starring in coming-of-age dramedies such as Sixteen Candles (1984), Better Off Dead (1985), The Sure Thing (1985), Stand by Me (1986), and Say Anything... (1989). In the 1990s, he then started appearing in independent films and had leading men roles in Bullets Over Broadway (1994), Con Air (1997), Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), The Thin Red Line (1998), Being John Malkovich (1999), High Fideli...
Known For
Complete Filmography

Fog of War
2025
as Bob Duncolm
With WWII raging around them, an injured pilot and his fiancée find themselves stranded on a remote estate. As the Allies plan the D-Day Invasion, the...

Detective Chinatown 1900
2025
as Grant
In 1900, a white woman was murdered in Chinatown in San Francisco, and the suspect was a Chinese man. The murder caused social shock, and people deman...

Decoded
2024
as Liseiwicz
In the 1940s, the world was in turmoil, and it was crucial to decipher the enemy's communication codes in a timely and accurate manner. Rong Jinzhen h...

BRATS
2024
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
In the 1980s, Andrew McCarthy was part of a young generation of actors who were set to take over Hollywood after a string of successful teen movies. H...

Pursuit
2022
as John Calloway
Detective Breslin crosses paths with Calloway, a ruthless hacker desperate to find his wife, who has been kidnapped by a drug cartel. When Calloway es...

Never Grow Old
2019
as Christopher 'Dutch' Albert
An Irish undertaker profits when outlaws take over a peaceful town, but his own family come under threat as the death toll increases dramatically.

River Runs Red
2018
as Horace
When the son of a successful judge is killed by two police officers and the system sets them free, a hardened veteran detective finds some incriminati...

Distorted
2018
as Vernon Sarsfield
A married couple suspect that the 'smart apartments' in their high tech residence are being used by its owner for sinister reasons.

Singularity
2017
as Elias Van Dorne
When Elias van Dorne, CEO of the world's largest robotics company, introduces his most powerful invention, Kronos-a super-computer designed to end all...

Blood Money
2017
as Miller
Three friends on a wilderness excursion must outrun a white collar criminal hellbent on retrieving his cash, but soon their greed turns them against e...

Arsenal
2017
as Sal
After the deadbeat brother of a businessman is assumed to be in on his own kidnapping, his sibling must take action to rescue him.

The Fog Bowl
2016
as Narrator (voice)
Exploring the Fog Bowl, the 1988 NFC Divisional Round Game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears, , including the rivalry between Bears he...

Cell
2016
as Clayton 'Clay' Riddell
When a strange signal pulsates through all cell phone networks worldwide, it starts a murderous epidemic of epic proportions when users become bloodth...

Cell
2016
Executive Producer
When a strange signal pulsates through all cell phone networks worldwide, it starts a murderous epidemic of epic proportions when users become bloodth...

Chi-Raq
2015
as Fr. Mike Corridan
A modern day adaptation of the ancient Greek play Lysistrata by Aristophanes, set against the backdrop of gang violence in Chicago.

Boom Bust Boom
2015
as Self
Terry Jones presents Boom Bust Boom. The result of a meeting between writer, director, historian and Python Terry Jones and economics professor and en...

Love & Mercy
2015
as Brian Wilson 1980s
In the late 1960s, the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson stops touring, produces "Pet Sounds" and begins to lose his grip on reality. By the 1980s, under the s...

Hot Tub Time Machine 2
2015
as Adam (uncredited)
After their first adventure with the Hot Tub Time Machine, Lou and Nick are living very well off their ill-gotten gains, while Jacob still cannot rely...

Dragon Blade
2015
as Lucius
Huo An, the commander of the Protection Squad of the Western Regions, was framed by evil forces and becomes enslaved. On the other hand, a Roman gener...

Drive Hard
2014
as Simon Keller
A former race car driver is abducted by a mysterious thief and forced to be the wheel-man for a crime that puts them both in the sights of the cops an...

Reclaim
2014
as Benjamin
After their newly adopted daughter goes missing in a small town, Steven and Shannon will stop at nothing to uncover the truth behind her disappearance...

The Prince
2014
as Sam
A family man who turns out to be a retired mob enforcer must travel across the country to find his daughter who has gone missing.

Maps to the Stars
2014
as Dr. Stafford Weiss
Driven by an intense need for fame and validation, members of a dysfunctional Hollywood family are chasing celebrity, one another and the relentless g...

The Bag Man
2014
as Jack
A criminal waits in a seedy motel for his boss after killing several men to steal a bag.

Adult World
2014
as Rat Billings
Amy, a naive college graduate who believes she's destined to be a great poet, begrudgingly accepts a job at a sex shop while she pursues a mentorship ...

Grand Piano
2013
as Clem
Tom Selznick, the most talented pianist of his generation, stopped performing in public because of his stage fright. Years after a catastrophic perfor...

We're No Animals
2013
as Tony Lovecraft
A Hollywood actor grows tired of making the same corporate movies, so he moves to Argentina to find more experimental and meaningful work.

We're No Animals
2013
Writer, Producer
A Hollywood actor grows tired of making the same corporate movies, so he moves to Argentina to find more experimental and meaningful work.

Salinger
2013
as Self - Actor
An in-depth investigation into the private world of the American writer J. D. Salinger (1919-2010), who lived most of his life behind the impenetrable...

The Butler
2013
as Richard Nixon
A look at the life of Cecil Gaines, who served eight presidents as the White House's head butler from 1952 to 1986, and had a unique front-row seat as...

The Frozen Ground
2013
as Robert Hansen
An Alaska State Trooper partners with a young woman who escaped the clutches of serial killer Robert Hansen to bring the murderer to justice. Based on...

The Numbers Station
2013
as Emerson
When the moral values of a longtime wetwork black ops agent is tested during his last operation, he receives an unfavorable psych evaluation. Now he i...

The Factory
2012
as Mike Fletcher
An obsessed cop is on the trail of a serial killer prowling the streets of Buffalo, N.Y. but when his teenage daughter disappears, he drops any profes...

The Paperboy
2012
as Hillary Van Wetter
A reporter returns to his Florida hometown to investigate a case involving a death row inmate.

All Noncombatants Please Clear the Set
2012
as Self
A behind the scenes look at the making of Being John Malkovich, condensed from hours of footage during production.

The Raven
2012
as Edgar Allan Poe
A fictionalized account of the last days of Edgar Allan Poe's life, in which the poet is in pursuit of a serial killer whose murders mirror those in t...

Woody Allen: A Documentary
2011
as Self
An intense portrait of the iconic filmmaker, writer, actor, comedian and musician Woody Allen: his life, family and friends; his writing and directing...

Shanghai
2010
as Paul Soames
An American man returns to a corrupt, Japanese-occupied Shanghai four months before Pearl Harbor and discovers his friend has been killed. While he un...

Hot Tub Time Machine
2010
as Adam
Four pals are stuck in a rut in adulthood: Adam has just been dumped, Lou is a hopeless party animal, Nick is a henpecked husband, and Jacob does noth...

Hot Tub Time Machine
2010
Producer
Four pals are stuck in a rut in adulthood: Adam has just been dumped, Lou is a hopeless party animal, Nick is a henpecked husband, and Jacob does noth...

2012: Roland Emmerich - Master of the Modern Epic
2010
as Self
This documentary features the 2012 film's cast and crew praising the work, vision, and style of the famed Disaster movie director (i.e. Roland Emmeric...

The End of the World: The Actor's Perspective
2010
as Self
A short piece that looks at the 2012 film's ensemble cast and the strengths they brought to the project.

2012: Roland Emmerich - Master of the Modern Epic
2010
Presenter
This documentary features the 2012 film's cast and crew praising the work, vision, and style of the famed Disaster movie director (i.e. Roland Emmeric...

The End of the World: The Actor's Perspective
2010
Presenter
A short piece that looks at the 2012 film's ensemble cast and the strengths they brought to the project.

2012
2009
as Jackson Curtis
Dr. Adrian Helmsley, part of a worldwide geophysical team investigating the effect on the earth of radiation from unprecedented solar storms, learns t...

Igor
2008
as Igor (voice)
A cliché hunchbacked evil scientist's assistant aspires to become a scientist himself, much to the displeasure of the rest of the evil science communi...

War, Inc.
2008
as Brand Hauser
In the future, the desert country of Turaqistan is torn by a riot after private corporation Tamerlane, owned by the former Vice President of the Unite...

War, Inc.
2008
Writer, Producer
In the future, the desert country of Turaqistan is torn by a riot after private corporation Tamerlane, owned by the former Vice President of the Unite...

Summerhood
2008
as Narrator (uncredited)
The coming of age summer-camp saga of four best friends who hate each other.

Guyville Redux
2008
Fans and luminaries of the Chicago music scene explain their reactions to Liz Phair's EXILE IN GUYVILLE album and the mark it made on indie rock in th...

Grace Is Gone
2007
as Stanley Philipps
Upon hearing his wife was killed in the Iraq war, a father takes his two daughters on a road trip, all the while searching for the right time and plac...

Grace Is Gone
2007
Producer
Upon hearing his wife was killed in the Iraq war, a father takes his two daughters on a road trip, all the while searching for the right time and plac...

Martian Child
2007
as David
A recently-widowed science fiction writer considers whether to adopt a hyper-imaginative 6-year-old abandoned and socially-rejected boy who says he's ...

1408
2007
as Mike Enslin
A man who specializes in debunking paranormal occurrences checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel. Soon after settling in, he confronts ...

Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten
2007
as Self
As the front man of the Clash from 1977 onwards, Joe Strummer changed people's lives forever. Four years after his death, his influence reaches out ar...

Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride
2006
as Self
A personal, intimate look at journalist Hunter S. Thompson with a special emphasis on his Hollywood relationships. It captures the legacy and "gonzo" ...

The Contract
2006
as Ray
Attempting to recover from a recent family trauma by escaping into the woods for a peaceful hiking trip, an ex-lawman and his young son stumble across...

The Ice Harvest
2005
as Charlie
A shady lawyer attempts a Christmas Eve crime, hoping to swindle the local mob out of some money. But his partner, a strip club owner, might have diff...

Must Love Dogs
2005
as Jake
Sarah Nolan is a newly divorced woman cautiously rediscovering romance with the enthusiastic but often misguided help of her well-meaning family. As s...
The Road to The Sure Thing
2003
A 26-minute documentary which gives an in-depth overview into the films production. This segment includes soundbytes from most of the cast & crew, as ...

Breakfast with Hunter
2003
as Self
Breakfast with Hunter is a feature length documentary starring the infamous outlaw journalist Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. Edited by director Wayne Ewing f...

Identity
2003
as Ed
Complete strangers stranded at a remote desert motel during a raging storm soon find themselves the target of a deranged murderer. As their numbers th...

Runaway Jury
2003
as Nick Easter
After a workplace shooting in New Orleans, a trial against the gun manufacturer pits lawyer Wendell Rohr against shady jury consultant Rankin Fitch, w...

Adaptation.
2002
as John Cusack (uncredited)
Charlie Kaufman is a confused L.A. screenwriter overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy, sexual frustration, self-loathing, and by the screenwriting amb...

Paul McCartney: Back in the U.S.
2002
as Self
In 2002, a 60-year old McCartney refocused the attention on his musicianship, staging a massive live concert in Cleveland, Ohio. The superstar, who we...

Max
2002
as Max Rothman
In 1918, a young, disillusioned Adolf Hitler strikes up a friendship with a Jewish art dealer while weighing a life of passion for art vs. talent at p...

Max
2002
Associate Producer
In 1918, a young, disillusioned Adolf Hitler strikes up a friendship with a Jewish art dealer while weighing a life of passion for art vs. talent at p...

The Concert for New York City
2001
as Self
The Concert for New York City took place on October 20, 2001 at Madison Square Garden. It was a celebration of the strength of New York and a thank-yo...

Serendipity
2001
as Jonathan Trager
Although strangers Sara and Jonathan are both already in relationships, they realize they have genuine chemistry after a chance encounter – but part c...

America | A Tribute to Heroes
2001
as Self
A benefit concert and telethon organized by George Clooney and broadcast uninterrupted and commercial-free by the four major television networks just ...

America's Sweethearts
2001
as Eddie Thomas
In the midst of a nasty public breakup of married movie stars, a studio publicist scrambles to put a cap on the escalating situation as the couple's l...

High Fidelity
2000
as Rob Gordon
After his long-time girlfriend dumps him, a thirty-year-old record store owner seeks to understand why he is unlucky in love while recounting his "top...

High Fidelity
2000
Screenplay, Co-Producer, Music Supervisor
After his long-time girlfriend dumps him, a thirty-year-old record store owner seeks to understand why he is unlucky in love while recounting his "top...

Cradle Will Rock
1999
as Nelson Rockefeller
A true story of politics and art in the 1930s USA, centered around a leftist musical drama and attempts to stop its production.

Being John Malkovich
1999
as Craig Schwartz
One day at work, unsuccessful puppeteer Craig finds a portal into the head of actor John Malkovich. The portal soon becomes a passion for anybody who ...

This Is My Father
1999
as Eddie Sharp
When schoolteacher Kieran Johnson discovers that his father was not a French sailor (as he had been led to believe) but rather an Irish farmer, he loo...

Pushing Tin
1999
as Nick Falzone
Two air traffic controllers who thrive on living dangerously compete to outdo each other on several levels.

The Jack Bull
1999
as Myrl Redding
The Jack Bull tells the story of Myrl Redding, a Wyoming horse trader who clashes with Henry Ballard, a fellow rancher, after Ballard abuses two of My...

The Jack Bull
1999
Executive Producer
The Jack Bull tells the story of Myrl Redding, a Wyoming horse trader who clashes with Henry Ballard, a fellow rancher, after Ballard abuses two of My...

The Thin Red Line
1998
as Capt. John Gaff
The story of a group of men, an Army Rifle company called C-for-Charlie, who change, suffer, and ultimately make essential discoveries about themselve...

Chicago Cab
1998
as Scary Man
A day in the life of a Chicago cab driver is examined as he picks up fares from the good and bad parts of the city and emotionally connects to many of...

Chicago Cab
1998
Executive Producer
A day in the life of a Chicago cab driver is examined as he picks up fares from the good and bad parts of the city and emotionally connects to many of...

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
1997
as John Kelso
A visiting city reporter's assignment suddenly revolves around the murder trial of a local millionaire, whom he befriends.

Anastasia
1997
as Dimitri (voice)
Ten years after she was separated from her family, an eighteen-year-old orphan with vague memories of the past sets out to Paris in hopes of reuniting...

Eastwood on Eastwood
1997
as Narrator (voice)
Autobiography of Clint Eastwood up to his movie "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil."

Con Air
1997
as Agent Vince Larkin
Newly-paroled former US Army ranger Cameron Poe is headed back to his wife, but must fly home aboard a prison transport flight dubbed "Jailbird" takin...

Grosse Pointe Blank
1997
as Martin Q. Blank
Martin Blank is a hitman for hire. When he starts to develop a conscience, he botches a couple of routine jobs. On the advice of his secretary and his...

Grosse Pointe Blank
1997
Screenplay, Co-Producer
Martin Blank is a hitman for hire. When he starts to develop a conscience, he botches a couple of routine jobs. On the advice of his secretary and his...

City Hall
1996
as Kevin Calhoun
The accidental shooting of a boy in New York leads to an investigation by the Deputy Mayor, and unexpectedly far-reaching consequences.

Floundering
1994
as JC
John Boyz lives close to where they film "Baywatch", but you'd never know it. His life is full of bizarre friends, sweaty sex, pistol wielding gangste...

Floundering
1994
Additional Dialogue
John Boyz lives close to where they film "Baywatch", but you'd never know it. His life is full of bizarre friends, sweaty sex, pistol wielding gangste...

The Road to Wellville
1994
as Charles Ossining
An unhappy young couple visit the infamous Kellogg spa in Battle Creek, Michigan while a young hustler tries get into the breakfast-cereal business an...

Bullets Over Broadway
1994
as David Shayne
After young playwright, David Shayne obtains funding for his play from gangster Nick Valenti, Nick's girlfriend Olive miraculously lands the role of a...

Money for Nothing
1993
as Joey Coyle
When unemployed dockworker Joey Coyle finds $1.2 million that fell off of an armored car, he decides to do the logical thing: take the money and run. ...

Map of the Human Heart
1993
as The Mapmaker
In an Arctic village in 1931, British mapmaker Walter Russell selects 12-year-old Eskimo Avik as his guide. When the boy contracts tuberculosis, Walte...

Bob Roberts
1992
as Cutting Edge Host
Millionaire conservative Bob Roberts launches an insurgent campaign against incumbent senator Brickley Paiste, firing up crowds at his rallies by sing...

The Player
1992
as John Cusack
A Hollywood studio executive is being sent death threats by a writer whose script he rejected - but which one?

Roadside Prophets
1992
as Caspar
On a quest to fulfill a friend's last wish, Joe takes to the desert road on his 1957 Harley-Davidson. Joined by wannabe biker Sam, Joe journeys from L...

Shadows and Fog
1991
as Student Jack
With a serial strangler on the loose, a bookkeeper wanders around town searching for the vigilante group intent on catching the killer.

True Colors
1991
as Peter Burton
Two law school friends find themselves at odds when one becomes a Justice Department lawyer and the other goes into politics.

The Grifters
1990
as Roy Dillon
A small-time conman has his loyalties torn between his estranged mother and his new girlfriend, both of whom are high-stakes grifters with their own a...

Fat Man and Little Boy
1989
as Michael Merriman
Assigned to oversee the development of the atomic bomb, Gen. Leslie Groves is a stern military man determined to have the project go according to plan...

Say Anything...
1989
as Lloyd Dobler
Lloyd, an eternal optimist, seeks to capture the heart of Diane, an unattainable high school beauty and straight-A student. He surprises just about ev...

Elvis Stories
1989
as Corky
Elvis Stories is a short movie directed by Ben Stiller and starring John Cusack and Ben Stiller

Tapeheads
1988
as Ivan Alexeev
The story of Ivan and Josh, two dimwitted ex-security guards who love music videos. Out of work, with no job prospects, they form a music video produc...

Eight Men Out
1988
as Buck Weaver
Buck Weaver and Hap Felsch are young idealistic players on the Chicago White Sox, a pennant-winning team owned by Charles Comiskey - a penny-pinching...

Broadcast News
1987
as Angry Messenger
Basket-case network news producer Jane Craig falls for new reporter Tom Grunnick, a pretty boy who represents the trend towards entertainment news she...

Hot Pursuit
1987
as Dan Bartlett
High school student Dan Bartlett misses the plane he was supposed to be on with his rich girlfriend and her family on the way to a Caribbean vacation ...

Stand by Me
1986
as Denny Lachance
After learning that a boy their age has been accidentally killed near their rural homes, four Oregon boys decide to go see the body. On the way, Gordi...

One Crazy Summer
1986
as Hoops McCann
An aspiring teenage cartoonist and his friends come to the aid of a singer trying to save her family property from developers.

The Journey of Natty Gann
1985
as Harry
America is in the depths of the Great Depression. Families drift apart when faraway jobs beckon. A courageous young girl confronts overwhelming odds w...

Better Off Dead...
1985
as Lane Meyer
High school student Lane Meyer sinks into suicidal depression when his girlfriend dumps him for jock Roy Stalin, the high school ski racing champion. ...

The Sure Thing
1985
as Walter "Gib" Gibson
Gib, a beer-guzzling slob, and Alison, an uptight Ivy-Leaguer, are an unlikely duo stuck together on a cross-country trip during Christmas break. At f...

Grandview, U.S.A.
1984
as Johnny Maine
Life in the small town of Grandview, Illinois is one that is just like any other city or town. Tim Pearson, soon to be graduating high school wants to...

Sixteen Candles
1984
as Bryce
With the occasion all but overshadowed by her sister's upcoming wedding, angst-ridden Samantha faces her 16th birthday with typical adolescent dread. ...

Class
1983
as Roscoe
Naive Midwestern prep student Jonathan bonds with his more worldly roommate, Skip, who takes the small-town boy under his wing. At Skip's urging, the ...
My Only Sunshine
N/A
A couple of bank-robbers plan a job to fund their divorce.