Seymour Cassel Biography

Fast Facts

• The Seymour Cassel Award is named after him, an annual honor given out at the Oldenburg Film Festival in Germany
• Ran for president of the national chapter of the Screen Actors Guild in 2007 as well as 2009
• Born to performer Pancretia and nightclub owner Seymour Cassel
• Has three children, Matthew, Lisa, and Dilyn
• Quote: "(His favorite John Cassavetes film he worked on) "'Faces' because it was a defining turning point in the way we were going to make films․․․That way of making a film was so much fun․ No unions to deal with, no time schedule․ We shot it in continuity, which John did with every film after that․ He did it for himself and he did it for the actors․""
• Quote: "Independent film is film that has thought in it․․․Simply because they don't have the money to make a big budget film, they're forced to make a story that is important to them, that they would like to see on film, a personal story that people can relate to, about people, where you can see the love of the characters․"
• Won an Oscar for his work on "Faces", a film that he would also work on behind-the-scenes as a member of the technical staff
• Often collaborates with filmmaker John Cassavetes
• Is the person responsible to giving rock guitarist Slash his nickname