1. John Cusack began acting in films during the 1980s, starring in coming-of-age dramedies such as Sixteen Candles, Better Off Dead, The Sure Thing, Stand by Me, and Say Anything.
38 Facts About John Cusack
1. 2.
John Cusack won the 2014 Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Maps to the Stars.
3.
John Cusack was born in Evanston, Illinois into an Irish Catholic family.
4.
John Cusack's parents are writer-actor-producer and documentary filmmaker Richard J "Dick" Cusack, originally from New York City, and Ann Paula "Nancy" Cusack, originally from Massachusetts, a former mathematics teacher and political activist.
5.
John Cusack graduated from Evanston Township High School in 1984, where he met Jeremy Piven.
6.
John Cusack spent a year at New York University before dropping out, saying that he had "too much fire" in his belly and "not enough smarts" in his brain.
7.
John Cusack then took on the small-town teen dark comedy film Better Off Dead.
8.
John Cusack was initially embarrassed and disappointed by the film, describing it as the "worst thing he had ever seen" on his first watch.
9.
John Cusack worked with the director Savage Steve Holland on One Crazy Summer.
10.
John Cusack then had a brief appearance in Reiner's Stand by Me, a film based on Stephen King's The Body.
11.
John Cusack appeared in the cult comedy Tapeheads, a film by executive producer Michael Nesmith.
12.
John Cusack was reluctant to do the film at first, but he gave his character dimension through referencing the punk bands The Clash and The Replacements.
13.
John Cusack's character has since become influential in popular culture, such as the band Lloyd Dobler Effect, and Frank Iero's band Pencey Prep with their misspelled song "Lloyd Dobbler".
14.
John Cusack then appeared in a series of independent films such as True Colors, and Money for Nothing.
15.
For Quentin Tarantino's second film, Pulp Fiction, John Cusack declined the role of Lance, which went to Eric Stoltz.
16.
John Cusack voiced Dimitri in the animated film Anastasia.
17.
John Cusack starred in a series of thriller films such as Identity, Runaway Jury, The Contract, and 1408, based on Stephen King's 1408.
18.
John Cusack appeared in the action comedies The Ice Harvest, and War, Inc, as well as James C Strouse's directorial debut film Grace Is Gone, in which he played the grieving widower of a soldier killed in the Iraq War.
19.
In Roland Emmerich's epic disaster film 2012, John Cusack starred as Jackson Curtis, a struggling novelist who attempts to save his family during a global cataclysm.
20.
In 2012, John Cusack played Edgar Allan Poe in James McTeigue's biopic film The Raven.
21.
John Cusack then starred in another real life role as Richard Nixon in Lee Daniels' The Butler.
22.
John Cusack won a Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Maps to the Stars.
23.
Later, John Cusack starred in several video on demand films, including The Factory, The Numbers Station, The Frozen Ground, Grand Piano, Drive Hard, The Prince, Reclaim, Cell, Arsenal, Blood Money, and Singularity.
24.
John Cusack starred in his first television series, Utopia in 2020.
25.
In 2025, John Cusack took on a significant role in the Chinese film Detective Chinatown 1900, portraying Congressman Grant, a character central to the film's exploration of anti-Chinese sentiment in early 20th-century San Francisco.
26.
Between 2005 and 2009, John Cusack wrote blogs for The Huffington Post, which included an interview with Naomi Klein.
27.
John Cusack voiced his opposition to the war in Iraq and the George W Bush administration, calling the government's worldview "depressing, corrupt, unlawful, and tragically absurd".
28.
John Cusack criticized the Obama administration for its drone policy in the Middle East and its support of the National Defense Authorization Act, and became one of the initial supporters of the Freedom of the Press Foundation in 2012.
29.
John Cusack later criticized the publication for misquoting him in order to make an interesting headline.
30.
John Cusack endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders in his 2016 and 2020 presidential bids.
31.
John Cusack is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
32.
John Cusack has been fiercely critical of Israel's military actions against Palestinians.
33.
John Cusack criticized Israel's killing of Palestinians in the 2014 Gaza War, retweeting for weeks articles supporting Gaza.
34.
John Cusack signed an open letter in support of Lorde cancelling performances in Israel, which was in response to a request from the BDS movement.
35.
In June 2019, John Cusack tweeted out an image of a large fist with a blue Star of David crushing a small crowd of people next to a quote by neo-Nazi Kevin Alfred Strom often misattributed to Voltaire: "To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize".
36.
Since the Gaza war broke out in October 2023, John Cusack has been vocal in defense of Palestinians.
37.
John Cusack trained in kickboxing under former world kickboxing champion Benny Urquidez for over 20 years.
38.
John Cusack began training under Urquidez in preparation for his role in Say Anything.