Nick Cassavetes was born in New York City, the son of actress Gena Rowlands and Greek-American actor and film director John Cassavetes. As
a child, he appeared in two of his father's films: Ehemänner (1970) and
Eine Frau unter Einfluß (1974). After spending so much of his youth
surrounded by the film industry, Cassavetes initially decided he did
not want to go into the field. He instead attended Syracuse University
on a basketball scholarship. His athletic career was effectively ended
by an injury, and he decided to rethink his aspirations, ultimately
deciding to attend his parents' alma mater, the American Academy of
Dramatic Arts in New York. He has appeared in the films, Im Körper des Feindes (1997), Interceptor (1986), Lebenslänglich (1999), Class of 1999 II: The Substitute (1994), Im Dschungel der Unterwelt (1990) and
The Astronaut's Wife - Das Böse hat ein neues Gesicht (1999), among others. He has directed several films,
including John Q. - Verzweifelte Wut (2002), Alpha Dog - Tödliche Freundschaften (2006), She's So Lovely - Alles aus Liebe (1997), Ein Licht in meinem Herzen (1996), Wie ein einziger Tag (2004), and Beim Leben meiner Schwester (2009). He also adapted the screenplay for
Blow (2001) and wrote the dialogue for the Justin Timberlake music video, "What
Goes Around... Comes Around". In 1985, Cassavetes married Isabelle
Rafalovich. They had two daughters together, Virginia Cassavetes (Virginia Sara Cassavetes) (born in 1986)
and Sasha Cassavetes (born in 1988), before divorcing. He then married Heather Wahlquist (Heather "Queenie" Wahlquist), who has appeared in several of his films, including a small role in Wie ein einziger Tag (2004) as Sara, a secondary character
and best friend to the female lead Allie Hamilton, portrayed by Rachel McAdams. The movie is effectively a family project, as Cassavetes's own mother, Gena Rowlands, appears as the older, married Allie Calhoun.
