The Notebook Director

Background:

Son of renowned independent filmmaker John Cassavetes and acclaimed actress Gena Rowlands, Nick Cassavetes entered show business as an actor, appearing in such films as "Mask" (1985), "Black Moon Rising" (1986), "The Wraith" (1986), "Blind Fury" (1989), "Twogether" (1994), "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle" (1994), "Black Rose of Harlem" (1996), "Face/Off" (1997) and "The Astronaut's Wife" (1999).

He made his directional debut in 1996 with the romantic drama "Unhook the Stars," which he also co-wrote and stars his mother Gena Rowlands and actress Marisa Tomei. He added to his directing resume such films as "She's So Lovely" (1997; starring John Travolta, Sean Penn, and Robin Wright Penn), "John Q" (2002; starring Denzel Washington), "The Notebook" (2004; starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams) and "Alpha Dog" (2006; featuring Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake, Shawn Hatosy, Ben Foster, and Anton Yelchin).

Cassavetes, who also directed Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around.Comes Around" music video, is currently directing the novel-based films "My Sister's Keeper," starring Cameron Diaz, Joan Cusack, Abigail Breslin, and Alec Baldwin, and "God Is a Bullet." He is rumored to be directing the upcoming movie "The First Avenger: Captain America" and will write for an upcoming drama film called "Kentucky Rhapsody."

On a more personal note, the 6' 5½" actor/writer/director has been married twice and has two daughters. His present wife is actress Heather Wahlquist (born on May 23, 1977), who has appeared in several of his films.

Speed Reader

Childhood and Family:

Son of maverick Greek-American actor/director John Cassavetes (December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989), a pioneer of American independent film, and Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning actress Gena Rowlands (born June 19, 1930), Nicholas David Rowland Cassavetes was born on May 21, 1959, in New York, New York. He is the grandson of Katherine Cassavetes and Lady Rowlands and his uncle is actor David Rowlands.

Nick has one brother, Frank Cassavetes, and two younger sisters, Alexandra Cassavetes (born on September 21, 1965), who directed the documentary "Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession" (2004) and served as 2nd Unit Director on Nick's film "Alpha Dog" (2006), and Zoe Cassavetes (born on June 29, 1970), who wrote and directed the 2007 film "Broken English" featuring mother Rowlands and Parker Posey.

A gifted speed-reader, Nick studied acting at Syracuse University, in Syracuse, New York, on a basketball scholarship. Following an injury that ended his collegiate athletic career, Nick decided to take acting more seriously and enrolled at his parents' alma mater, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

On September 8, 1985, Nick married Isabelle Rafalovich, daughter of Linda Massad. They have two daughters together, Virginia Sara Cassavetes (born on March 27, 1986) and Sasha Cassavetes (born on May 17, 1988, with a congenital heart defect; underwent four major heart surgeries). After divorcing Isabelle, Nick became engaged and later married his present wife, actress Heather Wahlquist (born on May 23, 1977), who has appeared in several of his films.

She's So Lovely

Career:

Son of renowned filmmaker John Cassavetes and accomplished actress Gena Rowlands, Nick Cassavetes began appearing in films as a teenager. At age 11, he played an unaccredited role in the Golden Globe-nominated film written and directed by his father, "Husbands" (1970). However, he didn't return to the screen until ten years later in the dramatic made-for-television movie "Reunion" (1980), starring Kevin Dobson, Joanna Cassidy, and Linda Hamilton.

Cassavetes began appearing regularly on the screen in the mid '80s. After being cast in Peter Bogdanovich's Oscar-winning movie starring Cher and Eric Stoltz, "Mask" (1985), he received roles in Harley Cokeliss' action film "Black Moon Rising" (1986; starring Tommy Lee Jones, Linda Hamilton, and Robert Vaughn), Clay Borris' independent feature "Quiet Cool" (1986; starring James Remar) and writer/director Mike Marvin's action film "The Wraith" (1986), in which he co-starred with Charlie Sheen, Sherilyn Fenn and Randy Quaid. He was also seen with Vanessa Williams in James Sbardellati's action movie "Under the Gun" (1988), with Elizabeth Kaitan and Christina Whitaker in Anita Rosenberg's comedy "Assault of the Killer Bimbos" (1988), starred in writer/director Jason Holt's "Desperation Rising" (1989) and supported Rutger Hauer and Terry O'Quinn in Phillip Noyce's "Blind Fury" (1989).

Cassavetes was spotted as a guest in an episode of the long-running legal drama series starring Andy Griffith, "Matlock," NBC’s legal drama "L.A. Law," and NBC’s science fiction series starring Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell, "Quantum Leap." He also appeared in the Emmy-winning TV movie version of David Hume Kennerly's book, "Shooter" (1988), alongside Helen Hunt, Alan Ruck and Jeffrey Nordling.

The early '90s saw Cassavetes co-starring with Traci Lords and John Vernon in Roger Duchowny's indie movie "Object of Desire" and supporting Brooke Shields, Jason O'Malley, Sherilyn Fenn and Anthony Franciosa in the Rupert Hitzig and O'Malley-directed drama movie "Backstreet Dreams." He also appeared in the pilot episode of the comedy show starring Joshua Beckett, "The Marshall Chronicles." Afterward, he co-starred with Eric Douglas in Sam Firstenberg's direct-to-video released sequel "Delta Force 3: The Killing Game" (1991), acted opposite Tanya Roberts in Jim Wynorski's thriller "Sins of Desire" (1993), and played the leads in Ralph E. Portillo's indie "Broken Trust" (1993) and Gregory Dark's thriller "Body of Influence" (1993; V), in which he portrayed a successful psychiatrist.

Cassavetes subsequently starred as a hardened ex-con in Gregory Dark erotic thriller "Sins of the Night" (1993), an artist and environmentalist in writer/director Andrew Chiaramonte's "Twogether" (1994), and as Caitlin Dulany's boyfriend in Spiro Razatos' action/horror "Class of 1999 II: The Substitute" (1994). He also portrayed author, playwright, editor and screenwriter Robert E. Sherwood in Alan Rudolph's biographical drama about the writer and poet Dorothy Parker (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh), "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle" (1994), played a reformed gangster in Blair Treu's independent film "Just Like Dad" (1995), and starred as a mobster who falls for a beautiful African-American singer (played by Cynda Williams) in Fred Gallo's crime/drama film set against the turbulent backdrop of the 1920's Chicago jazz clubs, "Black Rose of Harlem" (1996).

1996 marks Cassavetes' feature film directing debut. He directed the romantic drama "Unhook the Stars," which he also co-wrote and stars his mother Gena Rowlands, Marisa Tomei, and Gérard Depardieu. He followed it up with his second directing effort, "She's So Lovely" (1997), from a previously unproduced script by his father John. The film, starring John Travolta, Sean Penn, and Robin Wright Penn, received a Golden Palm nomination at the Cannes Film Festival and won Cassavetes the Directors' Week Award at Fantasporto. Cassavetes was also in negotiations to write a screenplay for a remake of his father's 1976 film, “The Killing of a Chinese Bookie,” for New Line Cinema, but the project was never realized because Ratner made “The Family Man” (2000) instead.

During this time, he returned in front of the camera and acted in Alki David's independent comedy "Me and the Gods" (1997), John Woo's hit action film starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, "Face/Off" (1997), and Paul Johansson's short drama "Conversations in Limbo" (1998). He also co-starred with Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence in Ted Demme's Oscar-nominated dark comedy "Life" (1999) and with Johnny Depp and Charlize Theron in writer/director Rand Ravich's science fiction/thriller "The Astronaut's Wife" (1999).

After playing unaccredited roles in writer/director Henry Bromell's dark comedy movie "Panic" (2000; starring William H. Macy, John Ritter, Neve Campbell, Donald Sutherland, and Tracey Ullman) and Ted Demme's film adaptation of Bruce Porter's fact-based book, "Blow" (2001; he also wrote the screenplay), Cassavetes sat in the director's chair for the action drama "John Q" (2002), starring Denzel Washington. The following year, he executive-produced a made-for-television movie starring his mother Gena Rowlands, "The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie" (2003), which won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children/Youth/Family Special, and wrote the Kevin Connolly-directed 25-minute short film, "Whatever We Do" (2003).

In 2004, Cassavetes directed the popular film adaptation of a 1996 romantic novel by Nicholas Sparks, "The Notebook," starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, as well as his mother Gena Rowlands. Two years later, he directed Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake, Shawn Hatosy, Ben Foster, Anton Yelchin, Sharon Stone and Bruce Willis in the crime drama film which he also wrote, "Alpha Dog" (2006), which is loosely based on the life of Jesse James Hollywood, a young drug dealer in California who became one of the youngest men ever to be on the FBI's most wanted list.

Cassavetes is currently filming "My Sister's Keeper," a big screen version of Jodi Picoult's 2004 novel about a young girl who sues her parents for the right to make her own decisions about how her body is used. It will star Cameron Diaz, Joan Cusack, Abigail Breslin and Alec Baldwin. He has also written the screenplay and is currently directing "God Is a Bullet," a drama inspired by Boston Teran's novel about a cult that terrorizes a small town. Additionally, he will write for an upcoming drama film called "Kentucky Rhapsody," which was produced first as a play called "June Bug vs. Hurricane" by writer, producer Erin Chandler, and is rumored to be directing an action/adventure film titled "The First Avenger: Captain America."

Awards:

• Daytime Emmy: Outstanding Children/Youth/Family Special, "The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie," 2004

• Fantasporto: Directors' Week Award, 1997