John Paul Cusack (born June 28, 1966) is an American actor, producer and screenwriter. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance in High Fidelity (2000).

Biography

Cusack is a fan of both the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago White Sox, for which he says he is "in trouble" in Chicago. He has led the crowd in a performance of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" at Wrigley Field. He has also been spotted at multiple Chicago Bears games and attended many Stanley Cup Finals games in support of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Cusack trained in kickboxing under former world kickboxing champion Benny Urquidez for over 20 years. He began training under Urquidez in preparation for his role in Say Anything... and currently holds the rank of a level six black belt in Urquidez's Ukidokan Kickboxing system.

Between 2005 and 2009, Cusack wrote blogs for The Huffington Post, which included an interview with Naomi Klein. He blogged on his opposition to the war in Iraq and his disdain for the Bush administration, calling its worldview "depressing, corrupt, unlawful, and tragically absurd". He also appeared in a June 2008 MoveOn.org advertisement, where he made the claim that George W. Bush and John McCain have the same governing priorities.

Cusack criticized President Barack Obama's administration for its drone policy in the Middle East and its support of the National Defense Authorization Act and became one of the initial supporters of the Freedom of the Press Foundation in 2012. In June 2015, he stated in an interview with The Daily Beast that "when you talk about drones, the American Empire, the NSA, civil liberties, attacks on journalism and whistle blowers, [Obama's] as bad or worse than Bush". However, he later criticized the publication for misquoting him in order to make an interesting headline.

In March 2008, police arrested Emily Leatherman outside Cusack's Malibu, California, home for stalking him. On October 10, 2008, Leatherman pleaded no contest and received five years' probation and mandatory psychiatric counseling, and was ordered to stay away from Cusack, his home and business for the next ten years.

Best films