This page uses content from the Seymour Cassel biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.

Seymour Cassel (born January 22, 1935) is an American actor. Cassel was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as the hippie swinger Chet in John Cassavetes's Faces, studied acting at the American Theatre Wing and at the Actor's Studio. He made his movie debut in Cassavetes' first film, Shadows, on which he also served as associate producer.

Early carreer

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Cassel's early career was tied to Cassavetes. For Cassel, after his uncredited role in Faces, he co-starred with Cassavetes in the 1961 Too Late Blues and the 1962 The Webster Boy 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. (The Killers was also Ronald Reagan'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 1962 Cassavetes-directed episode "A Pair of Boots" for The Lloyd Bridges Show as well as appeared on such popular programs as Twelve O'Clock High, Combat! and The F.B.I. before scoring with his aging hippie in Faces in 1968.

In addition to acting, Cassel worked as a crew member Faces, as the technical staff numbered only seven. Cassel helped shoot the film as a second cameraman, as well as adjusting the lighting. As the film was an indie financed by Cassavettes himself, there were no union regulations to deal with, nor a studio schedule to keep.

Faces was shot in continuity, which improved the actors' performances as they could develop a character logically, in sequence, by playing it out as if on stage, rather than being forced into the "piecework" that is typical of a film whose script is shot out of sequence. Cassel believes that this technique, which Cassavettes used on his subsequent films, enhanced the success of his works by eliminating the "fourth wall" between the audience and the actors. Acting tells the film's story, not the images, according to Cassel; 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) and A Very Special Place, 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).

Post-Cassavettes

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

Cassel is prized by indie directors for two things: his positive nature, and his (perhaps) facetious declaration that he'd make any indie whose script he liked for the price of a plane ticket. Cassel goes into projects with the feeling "I'm gonna have a good time in what I'm doing. I entertain myself when I perform. If I do that, then I can see the other performers enjoying my character."

Cassel prefers indies because of the greater freedom and more collaborative nature of indie film, particularly indie directors' openness to the contributions of supporting players. "It's not one or two stars," Cassel has said, "and all about kissing their ass through the film, taking them from this scene to that scene then going to play golf or whatever. The real challenge is to try to make something happen dramatically in a scene with less money, and doing it with some truth. I like the excitement of not having enough money, enough film, enough time to do it, and still trying to make it work."

In 2006 he co-starred in the NBC TV Series, Heist.

Partial filmography

External links

• Photos from Circadian Rhythm

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