Seymour Cassel's Main TV Roles Show Character(s) Heist Pops Good Company Jack O'Shea Convoy Phelps Lucky Victor 'The… The Lloyd Bridges Show Richard Lawyer

Main Movie Roles 2009 - Staten Island 2007 - Postal 2006 - Beer League 2005 - The Tenants 2005 - Lonesome Jim 2005 - The Wendell Baker Story 2004 - The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou 2003 - Stuck on You 2002 - Stealing Harvard 2001 - The Royal Tenenbaums 2000 - Animal Factory 1999 - Me and Will 1998 - Rushmore 1996 - Dead Girl 1996 - Trees Lounge 1996 - Cannes Man 1995 - Dead Presidents 1994 - It Could Happen to You 1994 - Chasers 1993 - Indecent Proposal 1992 - Love Is Like That 1992 - Honeymoon in Vegas 1991 - Mobsters 1990 - Dick Tracy 1989 - Wicked Stepmother 1988 - Johnny Be Good 1988 - Colors 1988 - Track 29 1987 - Tin Men 1987 - Best Seller 1986 - Eye of the Tiger 1978 - Convoy 1976 - The Last Tycoon 1976 - The Killing of a Chinese Bookie 1971 - Minnie and Moskowitz 1968 - Coogan's Bluff 1960 - Murder, Inc. 1959 - Shadows

BIOGRAPHY:

Seymour Cassel, the veteran character actor who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as the hippie swinger Chet in John Cassavetes (I)' Faces (1968/I), studied acting at the American Theatre Wing and at the Actors Studio. He made his movie debut in Cassavetes' first film, Shadows (1959), on which he also served as associate producer.

Cassel's early career was tied to Cassavetes, who himself had a flourishing career as an actor on television and in major Hollywood productions in addition to becoming, arguably, the first great independent movie director after the collapse of the studio system in the late 1950s/early 1960s. As for Cassel, after his uncredited role in "Faces," he co-starred with Cassavetes in The Webster Boy (1962) and Too Late Blues (1961) before winding up in support of his friend in Don Siegel's The Killers (1964), a movie shot for TV that had to be released theatrically due to its heightened violence (it was also Ronald Reagan (I)'s last movie). Cassel primarily made his living on TV in the 1960s, frequently typecast as beatniks and hippies. He had a supporting role in the Cassavetes-directed episode "A Pair of Boots" (1962) for "The Lloyd Bridges Show" (1962) as well as appearing on such popular programs as "12 O'Clock High" (1964), "Combat!" (1962) and "The F.B.I." (1965) before scoring with his aging hippie in "Faces" at the end of that tumultuous decade.

Along with "Shadows," "Faces" remains his favorite Cassavettes film. In addition to acting, Cassel was also a crew member on the film, as the technical staff numbered all of seven. He helped shoot the film as a second cameraman, as well as adjusting the lighting. As the film was financed by Cassavettes himself, there were no union regulations to deal with, nor a studio schedule to keep.

Several of Cassavettes' films were shot in continuity, so the actors could develop a character in sequence--similar to stage acting--rather than the traditional method of film making, which is shot out of sequence. Cassel has stated that this technique enhanced the success of his works by eliminating the "fourth wall" between the audience and the actors. He believes that acting tells the film's story, not the images and that what is important is how the audience relates to the characters on screen.

As their careers matured, Cassel also co-starred with Cassavetes in two TV movies, Nightside (1973) (TV) and Nightside (1973) (TV) and appeared in supporting roles in three more Cassavetes-directed films: The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976), Opening Night (1977) and Love Streams (1984).

In addition to appearing in studio films, Cassel has remained prominent in the American independent film community since the death of his friend and collaborator. He contributed a cameo appearance in the directorial debut of Steve Buscemi (with whom he appeared as a co-star in the black comedy In the Soup (1992)), Trees Lounge (1996), and has appeared in three films by Wes Anderson (I): Rushmore (1998), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004).

Cassel is prized by independent directors for two things: his positive nature, and his (perhaps) facetious declaration that he'd be in any independent film for the price of a plane ticket if he liked the script.


TRIVIA:

• Responsible for giving 'Guns N' Roses' (qv) guitarist 'Slash' (qv) his nickname.
• Is also an accomplished stage director who won the Los Angeles Critics' Award for his production of "Jesse and the Bandit" at the L.A. Stage Theater.
• Mentioned in two auto-biographies co-written by Anthony Bozza; "Slash" and "Too Fat To Fish" by his Beer League co-star Artie Lange.
• Father of 'Matthew Cassel (I)' (qv).
• In both _Rushmore (1998)_ (qv) and _The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)_ (qv) his character is mistaken for a doctor.
• Has a daughter from an earlier relationship.