1980s Cusack began acting in films in the early 1980s. In 1980, he appeared in a 16mm educational film short about teen problem solving titled
Why Is It Always Me?. His first on-screen theatrical film appearances were in minor roles,
Class (1983) and
John Hughes' directorial debut film
Sixteen Candles (1984). 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'. 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. Cusack took on the small-town teen dark comedy film
Better Off Dead (1985). He was initially embarrassed and disappointed by the film, describing it as the "worst thing he had ever seen" on his first watch. 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 starred in
Savage Steve Holland's film
One Crazy Summer (1986). Cusack then had a brief appearance in Reiner's
Stand by Me (1986), 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." 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. He also appeared in the cult comedy
Tapeheads (1988), a film by executive producer
Michael Nesmith. In the late 1980s, Cusack starred in
Cameron Crowe's directorial debut film,
Say Anything... (1989). He starred opposite actress
Ione Skye. Cusack was reluctant to do the film at first, but he gave his character dimension by referring to the punk bands
The Clash and
The Replacements. In the film, Cusack became known for the
boombox scene, in which his character, Lloyd Dobler, stands near his girlfriend Diane's bedroom window, and wordlessly holds up a cassette player above his head, playing
Peter Gabriel's 1986 song "
In Your Eyes". His character has since become influential in popular culture, such as the band
Lloyd Dobler Effect, and
Frank Iero's band
Pencey Prep with their misspelled song "Lloyd Dobbler".
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). For
Quentin Tarantino's second film,
Pulp Fiction (1994), Cusack declined the role of Lance, which went to
Eric Stoltz. '' (1997)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 ten-year high school reunion to win back his high school sweetheart. Released in the same year, Cusack also starred in the
Nicolas Cage action film
Con Air (1997) as the United States Marshal Vince Larkin, and in
Clint Eastwood's
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997). He also voiced Dimitri in the animated film
Anastasia (1997). In the critically acclaimed
Spike Jonze film
Being John Malkovich (1999), with a script written by
Charlie Kaufman, Cusack played a puppeteer who finds a portal leading into the mind of the actor,
John Malkovich. The film was nominated for three
Academy Awards, including Best Director (Jonze), Best Original Screenplay (
Charlie Kaufman) and Best Supporting Actress (
Catherine Keener).
2000s Cusack was nominated for a
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance in
High Fidelity (2000), based on
Nick Hornby's
novel about Rob, a record store owner, and the history of his failed relationships. 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. Cusack starred in a series of
thriller films such as
Identity (2003),
Runaway Jury (2003),
The Contract (2006), and
1408 (2007), The film largely went unnoticed at the time of release, but is now considered an underrated horror film. He also appeared in the action comedies
The Ice Harvest (2005), and
War, Inc. (2008), as well as
James C. Strouse's directorial debut film
Grace Is Gone (2007), in which he played the grieving widower of a soldier killed in the
Iraq War. In
Roland Emmerich's epic disaster film
2012 (2009), Cusack starred as Jackson Curtis, a struggling novelist who attempts to save his family during a global cataclysm.
2010s (2012)In the 2010s, Cusack starred in and produced the comedy film Hot Tub Time Machine (2010); he did not feature in the sequel, Hot Tub Time Machine 2'' (2015), however. Both films were directed by
Steve Pink. In 2012, Cusack played
Edgar Allan Poe in
James McTeigue's biopic film
The Raven (2012). 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 as material for his role. Cusack then starred in another real life role as
Richard Nixon in
Lee Daniels'
The Butler (2013). Daniels later said, "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." In 2014, Cusack appeared in another biopic film,
Love & Mercy (2014) as
Brian Wilson of
The Beach Boys, and worked closely with Wilson himself during the making of the film. In the same year, Cusack also starred in
David Cronenberg's
Maps to the Stars (2014). He won a
Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in
Maps to the Stars (2014). This era was a new peak in his career, however, in 2014, Cusack infamously criticized
Hollywood, calling it "a whorehouse" where "people go mad." Later, Cusack starred in several
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). Critics have noted Cusack's performance in the film. Phil Hoad of
The Guardian highlighted the film's engaging narrative and cultural commentary, mentioning Cusack's role as part of the ensemble cast. == Political views ==