Nick Cassavetes

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Nick Cassavetes
Born Nicholas David Rowland Cassavetes
May 21, 1959 (1959-05-21) (age 52)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation Actor, director, writer
Years active 1971–present
Spouse Isabelle Rafalovich (divorced)[1]
Heather Wahlquist[1]

Nicholas David Rowland "Nick" Cassavetes (Greek: Νικ Κασσαβέτης; born May 21, 1959)[2] is an American film actor, screenwriter, and filmmaker.

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[edit] Early life and career

Cassavetes was born in New York City,[3] the son of actress Gena Rowlands and Greek-American actor and film director John Cassavetes.[2] 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 originally 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.[4]

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.[2] He has directed several films, including John Q, Alpha Dog, She's So Lovely, Unhook the Stars, The Notebook, and My Sister's Keeper.[2] He also adapted the screenplay for Blow[4] and wrote the dialogue for the Justin Timberlake music video "What Goes Around... Comes Around".[5]

Cassavetes came in fifth in the World Poker Tour Invitational Season 5 attempting a bluff.[6] He is also appearing on season 5 of The Game Show Network's (GSN) High Stakes Poker.[7]

He also has played himself in the season 7 opener of Entourage on HBO.

He was cast as Richard McNamara in Atlas Shrugged (2011) based on Ayn Rand's novel of the same name.

Cassavetes made a cameo appearance in The Hangover: Part II after actor Liam Neeson was dropped from the cast due to scheduling conflicts.[8]

[edit] Personal life

In 1985, Cassavetes married Isabelle Rafalovich.[citation needed] They had two daughters together, Virginia Sara (born 1986) and Sasha (born 1988),[citation needed] before divorcing. He then married Heather "Queenie" Wahlquist,[1] who has appeared in several of his films, including a small role in the 2004 film adaptation of The Notebook as Sara, a secondary character and best friend to the female lead Allie Hamilton, portrayed by Rachel McAdams.[9] The movie is effectively a family project, as Cassavetes' own mother, Gena Rowlands, appears as the older, married Allie (Hamilton) Calhoun.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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