Los Angeles, Dec. 8(Reuters): For two decades, John Cusack has been among the busiest and most versatile of US actors, but Hollywood generally has overlooked him in awards season. That may be about to change with his new film Grace is Gone.

The ultra-low budget, $2-million movie made its debut in major US cities yesterday and around the United States in weeks to come as Hollywood moves toward the Oscars in February.

Grace is Gone earned strong reviews at 2007’s Sundance Film Festival mainly for Cusack’s role as a middle-class father of two girls whose soldier wife is killed in Iraq. USA Today critic Claudia Puig calls his work “brilliantly understated”.

The actor, who also produced the movie, told Reuters the praise and attention are great but not for him as much as the movie. He added that the buzz should help lure audiences and hopefully spark talk of the Iraq war’s impact in US homes. “It’s nice, especially when you put so much effort into it,” he said. “It feels like it will get a wide release and that’s one thing you do it for.”

Cusack gained recognition in the mid-1980s in small roles in films like the teen comedy Sixteen Candles.

Stardom came from director Cameron Crowe’s Say Anything and The Grifters. By the late 1990s, Cusack was working in big-budget Hollywood thrillers such as Con Air.

Cusack calls it one of his hardest roles because Stanley Phillips is overcome by grief and under huge stress. He withdraws emotionally but appears outwardly calm and under control as he takes his daughters to a theme park before breaking the news. “If it’s a role that sort of scares you, then it excites you, too,” Cusack said. “This scares me in a healthy way. I don't feel like I can just roll out of bed and do good work.”