Character actor Seymour Cassel once said that if he liked the script, he'd appear in any indie film for the price of the plane fare -- an attitude that's endeared him to directors and ensured a long career in independent and big-studio productions.Born Jan. 22, 1935, in Detroit, Cassel got an early introduction to showbiz by traveling with his mother's vaudeville troupe. Moving to New York City as a young adult to study acting, Cassel debuted on Broadway in 1958's "The World of Suzie Wong." He also began a lengthy collaboration with maverick director John Cassavetes, a pairing that resulted in seven movies and an Oscar nod for Cassel's supporting performance in 1968's Faces.
Among Cassel's other memorable films are Disney's White Fang (1991), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), It Could Happen to You (1994), Trees Lounge (1996), Rushmore (1998) and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001).
Killing of a Chinese Bookie: Director CutStrip club owner Cosmo Vitelli (Ben Gazzara) loses $23,000 in a mob-run private gambling club and can't repay the money. So, the gangsters make him an offer: Bump off a Chinese bookie who's eating into the underworld's bottom line, and the debt will be erased. But Vitelli doesn't realize he's being... Read More
The Killing of a Chinese BookieStrip club owner Cosmo Vitelli (Ben Gazzara) loses $23,000 in a mob-run private gambling club and can't repay the money. So, the gangsters make him an offer: Bump off a Chinese bookie who's eating into the underworld's bottom line, and the debt will be erased. But Vitelli doesn't realize he's being... Read More
Reach for MeWhen his new hospice roommate -- 25-year-old Kevin (Johnny Whitworth) -- moves in, the quiet life of senior citizen Alvin (Seymour Cassel) turns upside down. Forced to escape Kevin and his girlfriend, Sarah (Lacey Chabert), Alvin meets another free spirit in Valerie (Adrienne Barbeau). The... Read More
In the SoupWriter-director Aldolpho Rollo (Steve Buscemi) struggles to get his overly long script produced. Unable to pay his rent, he's forced to shop it around and finds a buyer in fast-talking shyster Joe (Seymour Cassel), who promises to produce the film too. But Joe has his own unique ideas about... Read More
ObsessionA coincidental encounter leads pretty Miriam Auerbach (Heike Makatsch) romantically astray in director Peter Sehr's 1997 drama set in Germany. After crossing paths with immigrant John MacHale (Daniel Craig) in a Berlin train depot, Miriam can't help falling in love with him -- even though she's... Read More
