Cast & creator
John Cassavetes
Best known for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Mike Douglas Show, Columbo
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).
Also known as: John Nicholas Cassavetes
86
film credits
43
television credits
93
1944–2025 · acting roles
6.7
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (129)
Showing 129 of 129 credits
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
1962
The Mike Douglas Show
Self
1961
Columbo
Alex Benedict
1971
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest
1968
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Rusty Connors
1962The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Lee Griffin
1962
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Nominee
1944Golden Globe Awards
Self - Presenter
1944
Robert Montgomery Presents
1950
Climax!
Malcolm McCloud
1954Climax!
Abel Winter
1954
Dr. Kildare
Makin Saund
1961
The Virginian
Jonah MacIntosh
1962
Studio One
Paul Greco
1948
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
Self
1975
Combat!
Kalb
1962Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1963
The Philco Television Playhouse
1948
Rawhide
Cal Fletcher
1959
Burke's Law
Eddie Dineen
1963Burke's Law
Stephen Collins
1963Burke's Law
Alfred Algernon
1963Burke's Law
Carlos de Vega
1963
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self
1948
Omnibus
Pepe
1952Omnibus
1952
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
1964
Kraft Suspense Theatre
Peter Chandler
1963
The 20th Century Fox Hour
Max Markheim
1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Sam Cobbett
1955
The United States Steel Hour
Johnny
1953
The Dick Clark Show
Self
1958
Rosemary's Baby
Guy Woodhouse
1968
The Legend of Jesse James
Blackie Dolan
1965
Johnny Staccato
Johnny Staccato
1959Johnny Staccato
Director
1959
The Dirty Dozen
Victor Franko
1967
The Lloyd Bridges Show
Director
1962Profiles in Courage
Parsons
1964
Channing
Lloyd Sullivan
1963Appointment with Adventure
Danny Loomis
1955
A Woman Under the Influence
Director
1974A Woman Under the Influence
Writer
1974
General Electric Theater
Johnny
1953
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
Iconic Couples of Hollywood
Self (archive footage)
2015
Flesh & Blood
Gus Caputo
1979
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Director
1976The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Writer
1976
The Fury
Ben Childress
1978
She's So Lovely
Writer
1997
The Killers
Johnny North
1964
Fourteen Hours
Reporter (uncredited)
1951
Opening Night
Maurice Aarons
1977Opening Night
Director
1977Opening Night
Writer
1977
Flesh & Blood
Gus Caputo
1979
Capone
Frankie Yale
1975
A Child Is Waiting
Director
1963
Saddle the Wind
Tony Sinclair
1958
Mikey and Nicky
Nicky
1976
Gloria
Original Film Writer
1999
If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium
Steve
1969
Two-Minute Warning
Sgt. Chris Button
1976
Faces
Director
1968Faces
Producer
1968Faces
Editor
1968Faces
Writer
1968
Love Streams
Robert Harmon
1984Love Streams
Director
1984Love Streams
Screenplay
1984
Gloria
Director
1980Gloria
Writer
1980
Incubus
Dr. Sam Cordell
1982Incubus
Screenplay
1982
Edge of the City
Axel Nordmann
1957
Too Late Blues
Director
1961Too Late Blues
Writer
1961Too Late Blues
Producer
1961
Whose Life Is It Anyway?
Dr. Michael Emerson
1981
Minnie and Moskowitz
Jim
1971Minnie and Moskowitz
Director
1971Minnie and Moskowitz
Writer
1971
Machine Gun McCain
Hank McCain
1969
Brass Target
Maj. Joe De Lucca
1978
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
Guy Woodhouse (archive footage)
2008
Crime in the Streets
Frankie Dane
1956
Peter Falk versus Columbo
Self (archive footage)
2019
Shadows
Pedestrian (uncredited)
1960Shadows
Director
1960Shadows
Writer
1960Shadows
Editor
1960
Heroes
VA Doctor (uncredited)
1977
Husbands
Gus Demetri
1970Husbands
Director
1970Husbands
Writer
1970Husbands
Editor
1970
Tempest
Phillip
1982
Movies Are My Life
Self
1988
Castanha
Thanks
2014
A Constant Forge
Self (archive footage)
2000
Big Trouble
Director
1986
The Night Holds Terror
Robert Batsford
1955
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
Self
1960
I'm Almost Not Crazy: John Cassavetes — The Man and His Work
Self
1984
Fräulein Berlin
himself
1984
Devil's Angels
Cody
1967
Nightside
Carmine Kelly
1973
150 Miles of Rotting, Rutted, Lumpy, Dilapidated Pavement
Man Talking
2021
No Right to Kill
McCloud
1956
Anything for John
Self (archive footage)
1993
Alexander The Great
Karonos
1968Arena - John Cassavetes
Self
1989
The Making of 'Husbands'
Self
1971
Out of the Shadows: The Films of John Cassavetes
Self
1993
Mass State Lottery
Thanks
2025
Affair in Havana
Nick Douglas
1957
John Cassavetes par Thierry Jousse
2024
Before Opening Night
Story
2011
The Webster Boy
Vance Miller
1962
Gena Rowlands: A Life on Film
Self (archive footage)
2019
Virgin Island
Evan
1959
Marvin & Tige
Marvin
1985
Taxi
Man (uncredited)
1953
Bandits in Rome
Mario Corda
1968
Operation Dirty Dozen
Self
2006
The Haircut
Music Industry Executive
1982Nederland C
Self - Portrait of the actor / cinematographer
1985
Opening Night
Original Story
2006