John Francis "Jon" Cassar (born 27 April 1958) is a Maltese-Canadian television director and producer, known for his work on the first seven seasons of 24. In 2006, he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for his work on the episode "Day 5: 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.". In 2011, he produced and directed all episodes of the Canadian-American miniseries The Kennedys, for which he won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Television Film and was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries or Movie.

Jon Cassar
Cassar at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con
Born
John Francis Cassar

(1958-04-27) 27 April 1958 (age 66)
Alma materAlgonquin College
Occupations
  • Director
  • producer
Years active1986–present
SpouseKristina Kinderman
Children2

Early life

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Jon Francis Cassar was born in Malta on 27 April 1958, and immigrated to Canada in 1963 with his mother, Elda (née Segona), and father, Frank Cassar.[1] He has two younger siblings, Bernard Cassar and Kristine Palsis. Cassar is a graduate of Algonquin College in Ottawa, Ontario.[2]

Career

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After La Femme Nikita ended, for which he directed 14 episodes, Cassar began working as director and executive producer on the FOX drama-thriller series 24. In 2006, he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for the episode "Day 5: 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.".[3] In addition, he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series four years in a row (2003–06), winning one in 2006.[4] He directed the spin-off feature film, 24: Redemption, in 2008. Following the completion of the seventh season of 24, Cassar left the series to focus on other projects. He joined the FOX science fiction series Terra Nova in 2010, as a producer and director.[5]

In 2012, Cassar won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Television Film and the Directors Guild of Canada Award for Outstanding Direction – Television Movie/Miniseries for his work on the 2011 miniseries The Kennedys.[6][7] For producing the series, he was also nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries or Movie.[4] In 2014, it was announced that he would return for 24's follow-up event series, 24: Live Another Day, which debuted on 5 May 2014.[8] In 2015, Cassar joined the ABC anthology series Wicked City as an executive producer and director.[9]

Personal life

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Cassar is married to Kristina Kinderman with whom he has two children: photographer Zak Cassar and actor Alexis "Lex" Cassar.[1] Zak is married to singer Betty Who and Lex's wife is actress Sprague Grayden.

He is the co-founder of the Motion Picture Industry Charitable Alliance, which hosts an annual charity auction called "Lights, Camera, Auction".[10]

Filmography

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Director credits

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Television

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Film

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Producer credits

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Camera credits

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Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result
1998 Gemini Awards Best Direction in a Dramatic Series La Femme Nikita Nominated
2003 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Drama Series 24 Nominated
2004 Nominated
Directors Guild of America Awards Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television Nominated
Outstanding Directing – Drama Series Nominated
2005 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Drama Series Nominated
2006 Won
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series Won
Golden Nymph Awards Best International Producer Won
Producers Guild of America Awards Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama Nominated
2007 Nominated
Directors Guild of America Awards Outstanding Directing – Drama Series Won
2009 Producers Guild of America Awards Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television 24: Redemption Nominated
2011 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Miniseries or Movie The Kennedys Nominated
2012 Directors Guild of Canada Awards Outstanding Direction – Television Movie/Miniseries Won
Outstanding Television Movie/Miniseries Won
Producers Guild of America Awards Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television Nominated
Directors Guild of America Awards Outstanding Directing – Television Film Won
2013 Gemini Awards Best Direction in a Dramatic Series Continuum Nominated

References

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  1. ^ a b "Cassar, Jon 1958- (John Cassar)". Encyclopedia.com.
  2. ^ "Premier's Award presented to Algonquin College Alumnus, Jon Cassar, as part of Higher Education Summit". Algonquin College. 29 November 2011. Archived from the original on 20 February 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  3. ^ "Maltese-born director lands Emmy for 24". Times of Malta. 29 August 2006.
  4. ^ a b Nickols, Corey (6 January 2015). "Me & My Emmy: Jon Cassar". Emmys.com.
  5. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (23 June 2010). "'24' Alum Jon Cassar Joins 'Terra Nova'". Deadline Hollywood.
  6. ^ "Jon Cassar Wins DGA Award for The Kennedys". Reelz. 28 January 2012. Archived from the original on 3 March 2012.
  7. ^ "David Cronenberg's 'A Dangerous Method,' Jon Cassar's 'The Kennedys' Dominate Directors Guild of Canada Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. 21 October 2012.
  8. ^ Marechal, AJ (12 June 2013). "Jon Cassar to Helm, Exec Produce Fox's '24: Live Another Day'". Variety.
  9. ^ Munn, Patrick (29 June 2015). "Jon Cassar Boards ABC's 1980s LA Crime Drama 'Wicked City'". TV Wise.
  10. ^ "Motion Picture Industry Charitable Alliance". MPICA.org.
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