John Paul Cusack (born June 28, 1966) is an American actor. Cusack began acting in films during the 1980s, starring in coming-of-age dramedies such as Sixteen Candles (1984), Better Off Dead (1985), The Sure Thing (1985), Stand by Me (1986), and Say Anything... (1989). He then started appearing in independent films and had leading roles in Eight Men Out (1988), The Grifters (1990), Bullets Over Broadway (1994), Con Air (1997), Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), Being John Malkovich (1999), High Fidelity (2000), America's Sweethearts (2001), Serendipity (2001), Max (2002), and Runaway Jury (2003).