John Cassavetes began his career in film in 1953 and ended it in 1986, between which times he was involved in every aspect of the film, television, and stage arts, including acting, directing, scoring, shooting, editing, producing, and marketing.[1] [2]
Cassavetes became known for directing a string of critically acclaimed independent films including Shadows (1959), Faces (1968), Husbands (1970), Minnie and Moskowitz (1971), A Woman Under the Influence (1974), Opening Night (1977), Gloria (1980), and Love Streams (1984). Cassavetes also had leading roles in both Opening Night and Love Streams opposite his wife Gena Rowlands.
He is also known for acting in films such as Martin Ritt's film noir Edge of the City (1957), and Roman Polanski's horror film Rosemary's Baby (1968), Giuliano Montaldo's Italian crime film Machine Gun McCain (1969), and Elaine May's crime drama Mikey and Nicky (1976). He earned an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination for his performance in the war film The Dirty Dozen (1967).
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Shadows | Co-written with Robert Alan Aurthur | |||
| 1961 | Too Late Blues | Co-written with Richard Carr | |||
| 1963 | A Child Is Waiting | ||||
| 1968 | Faces | Also uncredited editor | |||
| 1970 | Husbands | Also uncredited editor and actor | |||
| 1971 | Minnie and Moskowitz | Uncredited as actor | |||
| 1974 | A Woman Under the Influence | ||||
| 1976 | The Killing of a Chinese Bookie | ||||
| 1977 | Opening Night | Also actor | |||
| 1980 | Gloria | ||||
| 1984 | Love Streams | Co-written with Ted Allan, also actor | |||
| 1986 | Big Trouble | ||||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Fourteen Hours | Bit Role | Uncredited |
| 1953 | Taxi | Bit Role | Uncredited |
| 1955 | The Night Holds Terror | Robert Batsford | |
| 1956 | Crime in the Streets | Frankie Dane | |
| 1957 | Edge of the City | Axel Nordmann | |
| Affair in Havana | Nick | ||
| 1958 | Saddle the Wind | Tony Sinclair | |
| Virgin Island | Evan | US: Our Virgin Island | |
| 1959 | Shadows | Pedestrian | Uncredited |
| 1961 | Too Late Blues | Narrator | Uncredited |
| 1962 | The Webster Boy | Vance Miller | |
| 1963 | A Child Is Waiting | Mentally-challenged Adult Who Walks Toward Camera | Uncredited |
| 1964 | The Killers | Johnny North | |
| 1967 | Devil's Angels | Cody | |
| The Dirty Dozen | Victor Franko | ||
| 1968 | Rosemary's Baby | Guy Woodhouse | |
| Rome Like Chicago (Bandits in Rome) | Mario Corda | ||
| 1969 | Machine Gun McCain | Hank McCain | |
| If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium | Steve | ||
| 1970 | Husbands | Gus Demetri | |
| 1971 | Minnie and Moskowitz | Jim | Uncredited |
| 1975 | Capone | Frankie Yale | |
| 1976 | Two-Minute Warning | Sgt. Button | |
| Mikey and Nicky | Nicky Godalin | ||
| 1977 | Heroes | VA Doctor | Uncredited |
| Opening Night | Maurice Aarons | ||
| 1978 | The Fury | Ben Childress | |
| Brass Target | Maj. Joe De Lucca | ||
| 1981 | Whose Life Is It Anyway? | Dr. Michael Emerson | |
| 1982 | The Incubus | Sam Cordell | |
| Tempest | Phillip Dimitrius | ||
| The Haircut | Music Industry Executive | Short film | |
| 1983 | Marvin & Tige | Marvin Stewart | |
| 1984 | Love Streams | Robert Harmon | |
| 1984 | Fräulein Berlin | Himself | |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | You Are There | Plato | Episode: "The Death of Socrates (399 B.C.)" |
| 1954 | Robert Montgomery Presents | Episode: "Diary" | |
| 1954–1955 | Danger | Various | 3 episodes |
| 1955 | Kraft Television Theatre | Episode: "Judge Contain's Hotel" | |
| The Elgin Hour | Private Tommy Fitch / Frankie Dane | 2 episodes | |
| Armstrong Circle Theatre | Arthur / Clay Cochran | 3 episodes | |
| Pond's Theater | Episode: "Coquette" | ||
| Goodyear Television Playhouse | Paul Davis | Episode: "The Expendable House" | |
| 1956 | The United States Steel Hour | Johnny | Episode: "Bring Me a Dream" |
| Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Sam Cobbett | Season 1 Episode 16: "You Got to Have Luck" | |
| Appointment with Adventure | Episode: "All Through the Night" | ||
| The 20th Century Fox Hour | Max Markheim | Episode: "The Last Patriarch" | |
| Climax! | Abel Wintery / McCloud | 2 episodes | |
| 1957 | O. Henry Playhouse | Episode: "Two Renegades" | |
| Playhouse 90 | Dexter Green | Episode: "Winter Dreams" | |
| 1958 | Westinghouse Studio One | Private Paul Greco | Episode: "Kurishiki Incident" |
| Alcoa Theatre | Tony Benedetti | Episode: "The First Star" | |
| Pursuit | Sam Caldwell | Episode: "Calculated Risk" | |
| 1959 | General Electric Theater | Johnny | Episode: "Train for Tecumseh" |
| Lux Video Theatre | Christo Sierra | Episode: "The Dreamer" | |
| Decoy | Carl Walton | Episode: "Across the World" | |
| 1959–1960 | Johnny Staccato | Johnny Staccato / The Killer | 27 episodes |
| 1961 | Rawhide | Cal Fletcher | S3:E19, "Incident Near Gloomy River" |
| 1962 | The Lloyd Bridges Show | Castigo | Episode: "El Medico" |
| Dr. Kildare | Makin Saund | Episode: "The Visitors" | |
| 1963 | Channing | Lloyd Sullivan | Episode: "Message from the Tin Room" |
| Breaking Point | Evan Price | Episode: "There Are the Hip, and There Are the Square" | |
| 1964 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Lee Griffin | Season 2 Episode 19: "Murder Case" |
| The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Rusty Connors | Season 3 Episode 3: "Water's Edge" | |
| 1964–1965 | Burke's Law | Alfred Algeron / Various | 4 episodes |
| 1965 | Profiles in Courage | Parsons | Episode: "John Peter Altgeld" |
| Kraft Suspense Theatre | Peter Chandler | Episode: "Won't It Ever Be Morning?" | |
| Combat! | Kalb | Episode: "S.I.W." | |
| The Legend of Jesse James | Blackie Dolan | Episode: "The Quest" | |
| Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea | Everett Lang | Episode: "The Peacemaker" | |
| 1965–1967 | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Various | 3 episodes |
| 1966 | The Virginian | Jonah MacIntosh | Episode: "Long Ride to Wind River" |
| The Long, Hot Summer | Tim Demming | Episode: "The Intruders" | |
| 1968 | Off to See the Wizard | General Karonos | Episode: "Alexander the Great" |
| 1972 | Columbo | Alex Benedict | Episode: "Étude in Black" |
| 1973 | Nightside | Carmine Kelly | Television film |
| 1979 | Flesh and Blood | Gus Caputo | Television film |
| 1985 | King Kongs Faust | Berlin Film Fest Footage | Uncredited |
| 1989 | I'm Almost Not Crazy: John Cassavetes, the Man and His Work | Himself | Filmed in 1984 |