Early life and career

Cassavetes was born in New York City, the son of actress Gena Rowlands and Greek-American actor and film director John Cassavetes. As a child, he appeared in two of his father's films: Husbands (1970) and A Woman Under the Influence (1974). After spending so much of his youth surrounded by the film industry, Cassavetes initially decided he did not want to go into the field. He instead attended Syracuse University on a basketball scholarship. His athletic career was effectively ended by an injury, and he decided to rethink his aspirations, ultimately deciding to attend his parents' alma mater, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.

He has appeared in the films Face/Off, The Wraith, Life, Class of 1999 II: The Substitute, Backstreet Dreams and The Astronaut's Wife, among others. He has directed several films, including John Q, Alpha Dog, She's So Lovely, Unhook the Stars, The Notebook, and My Sister's Keeper. He also adapted the screenplay for Blow and wrote the dialogue for the Justin Timberlake music video "What Goes Around... Comes Around".

Cassavetes came in fifth in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Invitational Season 5, attempting a bluff. He also appeared on season 5 of The Game Show Network's (GSN) High Stakes Poker.

He also has played himself in the season 7 opener of Entourage on HBO and Tattoo Joe as a cameo in The Hangover: Part II, replacing Liam Neeson from the cast due to scheduling conflicts.

Personal life

In 1985, Cassavetes married Isabelle Rafalovich. They had two daughters together, Virginia Sara (born 1986) and Sasha (born 1988), before divorcing. He then married Heather "Queenie" Wahlquist, who has appeared in several of his films, including a small role in The Notebook as Sara, a secondary character and best friend to the female lead Allie Hamilton, portrayed by Rachel McAdams. The movie is effectively a family project, as Cassavetes's own mother, Gena Rowlands, appears as the older, married Allie (Hamilton) Calhoun.

Sasha was born with a heart defect and underwent substantial surgery; Cassavetes' film John Q. was dedicated to Sasha, and his later adaptation of My Sister's Keeper was based in part on Sasha's medical experience.

Cassavetes was named as one of the Top 500 Tax Delinquents by the State of California in April 2012. He was cited as owing close to $273,000 in back taxes. In July 2012 he caused some controversy when he defended incest and linked it to gay marriage.

Filmography

• The Wraith (1986) (as Packard Walsh)
• Black Moon Rising (1986) (with Tommy lee Jones/Linda Hamilton)
• Unhook the Stars (1996) (director, co-writer)
• She's So Lovely (1997) (director)
• John Q (2002) (director)
• The Notebook (2004) (director)
• Alpha Dog (2006) (director, writer)
• My Sister's Keeper (2009) (director, co-writer)
• Yellow (2012) (director, co-writer)
• The Other Woman (2014) (director)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]