John Cusack's New 'Identity'

Actor Plays An Ex-Cop In A Hot New Thriller

(CBS)  John Cusack's latest film, "Identity," is an edge-of-your-seat thriller about 10 strangers trapped in a desert motel by a savage rainstorm that causes all phones to go dead — cell phones included.

As the travelers find themselves being killed off one by one, Cusack's character, a former-cop-turned-limo-driver named "Ed," desperately tries to uncover the secret that has brought them together.

Joining Ed is his passenger, a fading TV actress (Rebecca DeMornay). Then there's Rhodes (Liotta), a police officer transporting a dangerous prisoner; a couple with a young son, the wife badly injured in a road accident; a troubled pair of newlyweds straight from Las Vegas; a prostitute (Amanda Peet); and the nervous, high-strung motel night manager (John Hawkes).

Cusack said, “They all have secrets that they're sort of running from that get kind of revealed. So it's a very clever script. It was one of the most clever scripts I've read in a long time.” Appearing on The Early Show Tuesday, Cusack said he found himself immediately taken with the twists and surprises throughout the film.

“I don't think it's like a slasher movie,” Cusack said. “It's more of a psychological thriller, almost getting into the supernatural thriller. I don't know. It's more like ‘The Sixth Sense’ or the others. I thought it was that kind of a film. But it's definitely a bit of a horror film. But I've never done one. So it was fun for me.”

Audiences will find that nothing is as it seems in this movie. With good reviews, "Identity" was able to attract enough moviegoers to make it the weekend's highest grossing film, taking in $17 million.

The ever-busy Cusack recently starred in director Menno Meyjes' critically acclaimed feature film "Max." The actor portrayed Max Rothman, a celebrated gallery owner who meets a fellow war veteran and aspiring artist, Adolf Hitler, and encourages him to paint. Cusack will next star in "The Runaway Jury" with Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman.

Some facts about John Cusack:

• On June 28, 1966, he was born John Paul Cusack in Evanston, Ill.
  
  
• Cusack attended New York University in New York City, but dropped out after less than a year.
  
  
• Cusack appeared in industrial films, doing voiceovers in commercials and acting in radio spots by the age of 12.
  
  
• In 1983, Cusack made his screen acting debut as a prep school student in the coming-of-age comedy "Class."
  
  
• In 1984, Cusack was one of the main "nerds" featured in "Sixteen Candles"; sister Joan also appeared in film.
  
  
• Cusack founded New Crime Productions, a Chicago-based theater company, in 1986.
  
  
• In 1991, he had a small role in "Shadows and Fog", marking his first film with Woody Allen.
  
  
• The actor formed the film production arm of New Crime Productions with Paramount Pictures in 1992.
  
  
• In 1999, Cusack starred in "The Jack Bull", a Western written by his father, Dick Cusack, and produced by New Crime Productions.