1980s

Cusack began acting in films in the early 1980s. His first on screen appearances was in minor roles, Class (1983) and John Hughes directorial debut film Sixteen Candles (1984).^[12] On the set of Grandview, U.S.A. (1984), his co-star Jamie Lee Curtis gifted Cusack with his first car, a 1974 Chevrolet Impala, which she had named 'La Bamba'.^[13] 16-year-old Cusack made his breakthrough performance in Rob Reiner's teen comedy The Sure Thing (1985). It was a critical success, but has since become an underrated film.^[14][15]

He then took on the small-town teen dark comedy film Better Off Dead (1985). Cusack was initially embarrassed and disappointed by the film, describing it as the "worst thing he had ever seen" on his first watch.^[16] The film had a budget of $3 million and grossed $10.3 million at the box office, but the studio still considered it a failure. Cusack also worked with the director Savage Steve Holland on One Crazy Summer (1986).^[17]

Cusack then had a brief appearance in Rob Reiner's Stand by Me (1986) as the older brother of Gordie, a film based on Stephen King's The Body. On the film, co-star Kiefer Sutherland recalled, "John Cusack was on the film for at least a week. I admired what he was doing and thought he was an actor I wanted to emulate."^[18] In 1988, Cusack went on and starred in the Independent film Eight Men Out (1988), about Major League Baseball's Black Sox Scandal during the 1919 World Series.^[19] He also appeared in the cult comedy Tapeheads (1988), a film by executive producer Michael Nesmith.^[20][21]

In the late 1980s, Cusack starred in Cameron Crowe's directorial debut film, Say Anything... (1989). He starred opposite actress Ione Skye, playing the title character Lloyd Dobler who experiences a romance with Diane Court (Skye). Cusack was reluctant to do the film at first, but he gave his character dimension through referencing the English punk band The Clash, and The Replacements.^[22] In the film, Cusack became known for the infamous boombox scene, in which his character Lloyd stands near Diane’s bedroom window, and wordlessly holds up a cassette player above his head, blasting Peter Gabriel's 1986 song "In Your Eyes".^[23] His character Lloyd Dobler had since inspired popular culture, such as the band Lloyd Dobler Effect,^[24] and Frank Iero's band Pencey Prep with their misspelled song "Lloyd Dobbler".^[25]

1990s

In the 1990s, Cusack played a con artist in Stephen Frears' 1990 neo-noir film The Grifters. He then appeared in a series of independent films such as True Colors (1991), and Money for Nothing (1993).^[26] In the Quentin Tarantino cult classic film, Pulp Fiction (1994), the role of Lance was originally written with Cusack in mind, however, the part went to Eric Stoltz.^[27]

After establishing New Crime Productions, Cusack co-wrote the screenplay for and starred in George Armitage's crime film Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), in which he played an assassin who goes to his 10-year high school reunion to win back his high school sweetheart.^[28] Released in the same year, Cusack also starred in the Nicolas Cage film Con Air (1997) as the FBI agent Vince Larkin,^[29] and in Clint Eastwood's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997).^[30] He also voiced Dimitri in the animated film Anastasia (1997).

In the critically-acclaimed Spike Jonze's fantasy film Being John Malkovich (1999), with the script written by Charlie Kaufman, Cusack played a puppeteer who finds a portal leading into the mind of the eponymous actor, John Malkovich.^[31] The film was nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Director (Jonze), Best Original Screenplay (Charlie Kaufman) and Best Supporting Actress (Catherine Keener).^[32]

2000s

Cusack was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance in High Fidelity (2000),^[33] based on Nick Hornby's novel about Rob, a record store owner, and the history of his failed relationships.^[34] In the early 2000s, Cusack appeared in a few romantic comedies such as America's Sweethearts (2001), Serendipity (2001), Must Love Dogs (2005), playing opposite lead actresses Julia Roberts, Kate Beckinsale, and Diane Lane.^[35]

Cusack starred in a series of thriller films such as Identity (2003), Runaway Jury (2003), The Contract (2006), and 1408 (2007),^[12] based on Stephen King's 1408.^[36] The film largely went unnoticed at the time of release, but is now considered an underrated horror film.^[37] He also appeared in the action comedies The Ice Harvest (2005), and War, Inc. (2008), as well as James C. Strouse directorial debut film Grace Is Gone (2007).

In 2009, Cusack starred as Jackson Curtis in Roland Emmerich's epic disaster film 2012 (2009), a struggling novelist who attempts to save his family during a global cataclysm.^[38] Throughout his career, Cusack tends to be typecast in the roles of writers, such as Martian Child (2007) and 1408 (2007).

2010s

In the 2010s, Cusack starred in and produced the comedy film Hot Tub Time Machine (2010),^[39] however, he did not feature in the sequel, Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (2015). Both films were directed by Steve Pink.^[40]

In 2012, Cusack played Edgar Allan Poe in James McTeigue's biopic film The Raven (2012).^[41] On acting in a real life role, Cusack said, "You have to get yourself as close to insanity as you can, but yet, be able to not go insane." He referred to the source of Poe's letters and writing, and used it material for his role.^[42] Cusack then starred in another real life role as Richard Nixon in Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013). Lee: "I love working with John Cusack. He’s terrifying, he’s electrifying, and he inspires me to be a better director. He’s a fiery, intense presence on set. We never, ever rub up against each other but he fuels me."^[43]

In 2014, Cusack appeared in another biopic film Love & Mercy (2014), on Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys. He was cast in the role of older Brian Wilson, and worked closely with Wilson himself, during the making of the film.^[44] In the same year, Cusack also starred in David Cronenberg's Maps to the Stars (2014).^[45] He won a Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Maps to the Stars (2014).^[46] This era was a new peak in his career,^[47] however, in 2014, Cusack infamously criticized Hollywood saying the mega-corporations have stepped in with 50-producer movies, franchises are king, and stars are used as leverage. He noted Hollywood is "a whorehouse and people go mad."^[48]

Later, Cusack starred in video on demand films, including The Factory (2012), The Numbers Station (2013), The Frozen Ground (2013), Grand Piano (2013), Drive Hard (2014), The Prince (2014), Reclaim (2014), Cell (2016), Arsenal (2017), Blood Money (2017), and Singularity (2017).^[47]

2020s–present

Cusack starred in the 2020 TV series Utopia.^[47] In a 2020 interview with The Guardian, Cusack had admitted to the decline of his acting career. "In the last few years, I haven’t been able to get projects financed. That could be a function of getting older. Or it could be a function of being cold."^[39] Cusack had since directed his attention to politics and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict on Twitter (now known as X).

Israel–Palestine

Cusack has been fiercely critical of Israel's military actions against Palestinians. He criticized Israel's killing of Palestinians in the 2014 Gaza War,^[62] retweeting for weeks articles supporting Gaza.^[63] Cusack signed an open letter in support of Lorde cancelling performances in Israel, which was in response to a request from the BDS movement.^[64] Following the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel and the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, Cusack signed another open letter (Artists4Ceasefire) urging Joe Biden to "call for and facilitate a ceasefire without delay..."^[65] He also blocked and direct messaged pro-Israel and Zionist Twitter users insults, and asserts that Israel is conducting a genocide in Gaza.^[66]

In June 2019, Cusack tweeted out image of a large fist with a blue Star of David crushing a small crowd of people next to a quote often misattributed to Voltaire: "To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize".^[67][68] In the tweet, Cusack added the words "Follow the money." He said that the tweet was meant to criticize Israel's policies against Palestinians but later apologized saying that "antisemitism has no place in any rational political dialogue" and deleted the tweet.^{[69][70][71][72]}

Since the Israel–Hamas war broke out in Gaza in October 2023, Cusack has been relentlessly vocal about the genocide of Palestinians. In January 2024, Cusack was labeled "Antisemite of the Week" by the organization StopAntisemitism, which he rejected.^[73]

Film

Television