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Early life

Cusack was born in Evanston, Illinois, to an Irish American Catholic family.[2][3] His father, Dick Cusack (1925—2003), and siblings Ann, Joan, Bill, and Susie have also been actors; his father was also a documentary filmmaker,[4] owned a film production company[5] and was a friend of activist Philip Berrigan.[6] 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".[7]

Career

Cusack gained fame in the mid-1980s after appearing in teen movies such as Better Off Dead, The Sure Thing, One Crazy Summer, and Sixteen Candles. 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. His roles broadened in the late 1980s and early 1990s with more serious-minded fare such as the political satire True Colors and the film noir thriller The Grifters.

Cusack became a proven box office success with his roles in the dark comedy Grosse Pointe Blank and the Jerry Bruckheimer blockbuster Con Air. In the years hence, his range of films has diversified, appearing in 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 starred in the horror film 1408, based on Stephen King's short story of the same name. He next appeared 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 sister Joan Cusack.

Joan Cusack and his close friend Jeremy Piven have appeared in many of his films. The siblings appeared as two geeks in Sixteen Candles: John as one of Farmer Ted's posse, and Joan as the geek with the neck brace. They also appeared together in High Fidelity, Grosse Pointe Blank, Cradle Will Rock, Martian Child and Say Anything. Piven and Cusack played opposite one another in One Crazy Summer, Serendipity, and Grosse Pointe Blank. 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.[8]

Personal and political life

Cusack is fiercely protective of his private life; he has said that "celebrity is the worst thing that can happen to an actor."[citation needed] Since May 2005, he has been an occasional contributing blogger at The Huffington Post, including an interview with Naomi Klein. 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".[9] He also appeared in a June 2008 Moveon.org ad, where he makes the claim that George W. Bush and John McCain have the same governing priorities.[10]

Cusack has an allegiance to both the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago White Sox, for which, he says, he's "in trouble there for that."[11] He has led the crowd in a performance of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" at Wrigley Field.[11]

In 2008 police arrested a woman that they believed had stalked Cusack.[12]

Trivia

Brother of Joan Cusack, Ann Cusack, Susie Cusack and Bill Cusack. Son of Dick Cusack (actor, documentary filmmaker) and Nancy Cusack (teacher).

Last name is pronounced Q-zack.

Has a production company called New Crime Productions (that produced Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), and The Jack Bull (1999) (TV) among various stage productions) which he founded with two of his high school buddies Steve Pink & D.V. DeVincentis.

Education: Piven Theatre Workshop (Evanston, Illinois), run by the parents of actor Jeremy Piven. One semester at NYU.

Attended Evanston Township High School, Evanston, Ill.

Turned down Woody Harrelson's role in Indecent Proposal (1993).

Dated Neve Campbell. [2001]

Dated Lili Taylor.

Dated Alison Eastwood.

Dated Claire Forlani.

Dated Minnie Driver.

Turned down Bill Paxton's role in Apollo 13 (1995).

Close friends with actor Jeremy Piven. They have done 10 movies together: One Crazy Summer (1986), Elvis Stories (1989), Say Anything... (1989), The Player (1992), Floundering (1994), The Grifters (1990), Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), Serendipity (2001) and Runaway Jury (2003).

Is the product of a passionately liberal Irish Catholic family, visited the radical Berrigan brothers when he was growing up, and, like them, his mother still gets arrested for her anti-militarism and pro- human rights protests.

On free time likes to go "Helecopter Snowboarding" and kickboxing with stunt cordinator Benny Urquidez.

Tested for the role of Madmartigan in Willow (1988) but lost to Val Kilmer.

Is the subject of the song "Honorable Mention" by the band Fall Out Boy.

The novel "Love In The Time Of Cholera" by author Gabriel Garcia Marquez is prominently referenced in two John Cusack movies (High Fidelity (2000) and Serendipity (2001).

Sister Joan Cusack appeared in 10 of his movies:Class (1983), Sixteen Candles (1984), Grandview, U.S.A. (1984), Broadcast News (1987), Say Anything... (1989), Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), Cradle Will Rock (1999), High Fidelity (2000), Martian Child (2007) and War, Inc. (2008).

Was originally set to play Walter Eberhart in the The Stepford Wives (2004). Due to conflicts, he had to drop out and Matthew Broderick got the role.

Was once roommates with Jeremy Piven

Attended a theatre school in Chicago with sisters Joan Cusack and Ann Cusack. The theatre school was run by the parents of his best friend, Jeremy Piven

Irish-American.

His favorite group is the punk rock band, The Clash. He is also a big fan of The Specials, Fishbone, Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello.

Ranked #15 on Tropopkin's Top 25 Most Intriguing People [Issue #100]

Die-hard Chicago Cubs fan.

Some kind of reference to his favorite bands (usually The Clash, The Ramones or The Specials) makes at least one appearance in most of his films. Most of the time, he wears a t-shirt of one of the bands (Say Anything... (1989), High Fidelity (2000), Must Love Dogs (2005), etc), but sometimes (Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)) he works in a poster of one of the bands. These bands are typically in the soundtracks to his New Criminal's productions as well.

Member of the "Brat Pack", the name for the actors who tended to star in teen movies of the 80's. Others include Emilio Estevez, Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Demi Moore, Charlie Sheen and Diane Lane.

Most famous member of the Cusack family.

He and his good friend Tim Robbins made 6 movies together: Bob Roberts (1992), Cradle Will Rock (1999), High Fidelity (2000), The Player (1992), The Sure Thing (1985) and Tapeheads (1988)

Was, for a long time, attached to play the role of "Nite Owl" in the doomed movie adaptation of Alan Moore's comic-book mini-series, Watchmen (2009).

Was originally the actor chosen to play John Bender in the The Breakfast Club (1985). At the last minute, things changed and Judd Nelson ended up in the role.

Was good friends with Hunter S. Thompson and nearly got to play him in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998).

Was considered for the role of "Paul Brenner" in The General's Daughter (1999), but was deemed too young at the time, so the role went to John Travolta instead.

His performance as "Lloyd Dobler" in Say Anything... (1989) is ranked #72 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

Apocalypse Now (1979) is one of his favorite films.

During the famous "boom box serenade" scene in Say Anything... (1989), he is actually playing his favorite Fishbone tape on the boom box, while Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" is played in the movie. (source: Cameron Crowe commentary on the DVD).

Growing up John and his siblings often put on plays at their home. He has mentioned that his older sister Ann once staged a production of "Cinderella" in their living room in which she played Cinderella, sister Joan played the Ugly Stepsister, brother Bill played Prince Charming and John played the dog.

Considers the scripts to Max (2002/I) and Being John Malkovich (1999) the best he has read.

Featured as #22 on VH1's 100 Greatest Teen Stars countdown.

Beat out Christian Slater for the role of "Lloyd" in Say Anything.

Choosen by Empire Magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Movie Stars in the world (#70) 2007.

Was considered for the role of "Billy Flynn" in Chicago (2002). However, he ended up losing the role to Richard Gere.

In 2006 when Total Film magazine asked him for a "Top 5" list of his movies, he answered with The Grifters (1990), Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), The Thin Red Line (1998), High Fidelity (2000) and Max (2002/I).

In 1994, he attended his 10th year high school reunion in Illinois. He and the producers of the film had made a bet that if they came up with financing for Grosse Pointe Blank, they would all attended their high school reunions.

Good friends with professional volleyball player, Gabrielle Reese.

Has homes in Malibu, California, and Chicago.

Filmography

... aka Turbulenzen - und andere Katastrophen]] (Germany)

... aka Mince ligne rouge, La (Canada: French title)

... aka Histoire de mon père, L' (Canada: French title: TV title)

... aka Hellcab (USA: video title)

- Our Father Whose Art Ain't Heaven (1996) TV episode (voice) .... Greg

... aka Shadow Makers (UK)

... aka ...Say Anything... (USA: promotional title)

... aka Persecución intensa (Mexico)

... aka Better Off Dead]] (USA)