Quick Facts
Biography
Seymour Joseph Cassel (born January 22, 1935) is an American actor.
Cassel first came to prominence in the 1960s in the pioneering independent films of writer/director John Cassavetes. The first of these was Too Late Blues (1961), followed by Faces (1968), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award and won a National Society of Film Critics Award. Cassel went on to appear in Cassavetes' Minnie and Moskowitz (1971), The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976), Opening Night (1977) and Love Streams (1984).
He has further appeared in a number of independent and Hollywood film productions. Notable titles include Coogan's Bluff (1968), The Last Tycoon (1976), Valentino (1977), Johnny Be Good (1988), Mobsters (1991), In the Soup (1992), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Indecent Proposal (1993), Beer League (2006) and Fort McCoy (2011). Like Cassavetes, Wes Anderson has frequently cast Cassel, first in Rushmore (1998) and then in The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004).
Early life and career
Cassel was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Pancretia Ann (née Kearney), a performer, and Seymour Joseph Cassel, a nightclub owner. Cassel's early career was tied to fellow actor John Cassavetes, who is informally part of his clan of actors. He made his movie debut in Cassavetes' first film, Shadows, on which he also served as associate producer. In 1961 he co-starred with Cassavetes in Too Late Blues and 1962's The Webster Boy. He also appeared in The Lloyd Bridges Show in the episode "A Pair of Boots" directed by his friend Cassavetes. Cassel appeared on such popular programs as Twelve O'Clock High, Combat! and The F.B.I. He also appeared as "Cancelled", one of Colonel Gumm's henchmen, in the 1960s Batman TV episode "A Piece of the Action", which also featured guest stars Van Williams and Bruce Lee as The Green Hornet and Kato, respectively.
Collaborations
In 1968, Cassel was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Chet in John Cassavetes's Faces. Other collaborations with Cassavetes included a starring role with Gena Rowlands in Minnie and Moskowitz, supporting roles in The Killing of a Chinese Bookie and Love Streams, and a cameo appearance in Opening Night. Having appeared in major Hollywood productions such as Dick Tracy, Tin Men, and Indecent Proposal, Cassel has also been very supportive of the American independent film community, especially in the wake of Cassavetes's death. Cassel had a small role in Steve Buscemi's directorial debut Trees Lounge and appeared in three films by Wes Anderson: Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic. Cassel appeared for four seasons in comedian Tracey Ullman's television series Tracey Takes On....
Personal life
Cassel married Elizabeth Deering in 1964; they had two children before divorcing in 1983.
Guitarist Slash (real name Saul Hudson), who was childhood friends with Cassel's son, credited Cassel with giving him his nickname, because he was always zipping from one place to another and never sitting still.
Accolades
In September 2007, Cassell was a candidate for national president of the Screen Actors Guild, along with Charley M. De La Peña, Alan Rosenberg (incumbent), and Barry Simmonds.
In 2009 Cassell was once again a candidate for national president of the Screen Actors Guild along with Anne Marie Johnson and Ken Howard. Howard was the eventual winner.
In 2012, the Oldenburg Film Festival in Germany introduced an actors' prize named the Seymour Cassel Award.
He won the National Society of Film Critics Awards, USA award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Faces.
Filmography
- Shadows (1959) (uncredited)
- The Killers (1964)
- The Hanged Man (1964)
- Faces (1968) as Chet
- Coogan's Bluff (1968)
- The Revolutionary (1970)
- Minnie and Moskowitz (1971)
- The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)
- Black Oak Conspiracy (1977)
- Death Game (1977)
- Valentino (1977)
- Opening Night (1978)
- Convoy (1978)
- California Dreaming (1979)
- Mr. Mike's Mondo Video (1979)
- Sunburn (1979)
- The Mountain Men (1980)
- King of The Mountain (1981)
- Love Streams (1984)
- Eye of the Tiger (1986)
- Beverly Hills Madam (1986)
- Tin Men (1987)
- Plain Clothes (1988)
- Colors (1988)
- Track 29 (1988)
- Wicked Stepmother (1989)
- I'm Almost Not Crazy: John Cassavetes, the Man and His Work (1989)
- Dick Tracy (1990)
- Cold Heaven (1991)
- White Fang (1991)
- In the Soup (1992)
- Honeymoon in Vegas (1992)
- Boiling Point (1993)
- Indecent Proposal (1993)
- There Goes My Baby (1994)
- It Could Happen To You (1994)
- Chasers (1994), appearance as Master Chief Seymie Bogg
- Hand Gun (1994)
- Good Company (1996), TV series
- Dead Presidents (1995)
- Tracey Takes On... (1996)
- Trees Lounge (1996)
- Dead Girl (1996)
- Dream for an Insomniac (1996)
- Slaughter of the Cock (1996)
- Cannes Man (1996)
- Obsession (1997, German TV)
- Motel Blue (1997)
- The Last Don I & II (1997)
- Rushmore (1998)
- The Last Home Run (1998)
- The Crew (2000)
- Animal Factory (2000)
- Bartleby (2001 film) (2001)
- 61* (2001)
- The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
- The Burial Society (2002)
- Passionada (2002)
- Manna from Heaven (2002)
- Stealing Harvard (2002)
- Stuck on You (2003)
- The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
- Thanksgiving (2004)
- Bittersweet Place (2005)
- Lonesome Jim (2005)
- Before It Had a Name (2005)
- The Wendell Baker Story (2005)
- Artie Lange's Beer League (2006)
- Heist (2006), TV series
- Big Heart City (2006)
- Postal (2007)
- Reach for Me (2008)
- Chasing 3000 (2008)
- Irene in Time (2009)
- Flight Of The Conchords (2009)
- Staten Island (2009)
- Pete Smalls Is Dead (2010)
- Silver Case (2011), directed by Christian Filippella
- Freerunner (2011)
- The Call (2011), co-starring Ryan Newman
- Booster (2012)
- Lost Angeles (2012)
- Broken Kingdom (2012)
- The Secret Lives of Dorks (2013)
- Pride of Lions (2013)
- The Last Beat (2014)