James Caan
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
Caan has reached the level of senior student in the martial art of Gosoku-Ryu.
"You know he's got a temper and he thinks he's Italian." --Scott Caan about his father to Entertainment Weekly, June 28, 1996.
Biography
Actor James Caan was a gifted performer who was as capable of pulling heart strings as he was of breaking someone's kneecaps. Caan emerged from the cauldron of New York City's thriving acting scene in the 1950s to become a noted player on the stage and on television. Though he graduated to films soon after his salad days in New York after swearing off television for the next several years, he had his first big breakthrough on the small screen, playing dying football player Brian Piccolo in "Brian's Song" (ABC, 1971). His performance in what was considered to be one of the best television movies ever made earned Caan considerable acclaim, as well as an Emmy Award nomination. But the following year put Caan on the map permanently, with his energetic portrayal of the hot-headed Sonny Corleone in "The Godfather" (1972), a role with which he was forever identified - most notably in the numerous mobster roles he played in the ensuing decades.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Special Thanks (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Misc. Crew (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1960
Made his acting debut on the stage in "La Ronde" (billed as Jimmy Caan)
1961
First Broadway play, "Blood, Sweat, and Stanley Poole"
1961
Made TV episodic debut on "Naked City" (ABC)
1963
Film acting debut, "Lady in a Cage"
1963
First film appearance, played a bit part in "Irma la Douce"
1967
Appeared in "El Dorado" with John Wayne and Robert Mitchum
1968
Landed starring role in Robert Altman's second feature film "Countdown"
1969
First screen collaboration with Francis Ford Coppola, "The Rain People"
1971
Won acclaim as dying football player Brian Piccolo in the ABC movie "Brian's Song"; earned Emmy nomination
1972
Re-teamed with Coppola to play Sonny Corleone in "The Godfather"; garnered Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor
1973
Co-starred with Marsha Mason for first time in "Cinderella Liberty"; also first film with director Mark Rydell
1974
Earned praise for his leading role in "The Gambler"; earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor
1975
Played Billy Rose opposite Barbra Streisand in "Funny Lady"; earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor
1979
Played opposite Mason again in "Chapter Two"
1980
Made his feature directing debut with "Hide in Plain Sight"; also starred
1981
Played the title role of a professional safe cracker in Michael Mann's "Thief"
1987
Returned to films after a five-year absence in Coppola's "Gardens of Stone"
1990
Played writer Paul Sheldon opposite Kathy Bates as the obsessive fan in the thriller "Misery," based on the novel by Stephen King
1990
Played Spuds Spaldoni in Warren Beatty's feature adaptation of the comic strip character "Dick Tracy"
1991
Co-starred with Bette Midler in the Mark Rydell directed "For the Boys"
1992
Garnered praise for his turn as a Las Vegas gambler in "Honeymoon in Vegas"
1993
Co-starred as Dennis Quaid's father in "Flesh and Bone"
1996
Appeared in Wes Anderson's debut feature "Bottle Rocket"
1996
Played supporting role in "A Boy Called Hate"; first film opposite his son Scott Caan
1998
Portrayed detective Philip Marlowe in the HBO movie "Poodle Springs," adapted from Raymond Chandler's unfinished novel
1999
Cast as an Irish schoolteacher investigating his roots in "This Is My Father"
1999
Cast as Hugh Grant's crime boss father-in-law in the comedy "Mickey Blue Eyes"
2000
Portrayed a mob-connected NYC subway contractor in "The Yards"
2002
Cast in lead role in the USA Network film "Hearts of Men"
2003
Appeared as The Big Man in Lars von Trier's "Dogville"
2003
Played Will Ferrell's biological father in the comedy "Elf"
2003
Cast as Big Ed Deline, the head of the surveillance team for a Vegas casino on the NBC drama "Las Vegas"; left the show's after the fourth season
2008
Cast as The President in the film adaptation of "Get Smart," based on the 1960s spy parody television series
2009
Voiced Flint's father in the animated feature "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs"
2010
Cast opposite his son Scott Caan in "Mercy"; film also written and produced by his son
2010
Cast opposite Luke Wilson in the crime film "Middle Men"
2012
Guest starred opposite his son Scott on the reboot of "Hawaii Five-0" (CBS)
2012
Co-starred with Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg in "That's My Boy"
Photo Collections
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
Caan has reached the level of senior student in the martial art of Gosoku-Ryu.
"You know he's got a temper and he thinks he's Italian." --Scott Caan about his father to Entertainment Weekly, June 28, 1996.
"Jimmy Caan is one of the best actors I know, and he's only gotten better." --director Mark Rydell Entertainment Weekly, June 28, 1996.
"People are always backing up when I'm just going to shake their hands. They always think, 'Here comes Sonny. Watch Out!" --James Caan to Entertainment Weekly, June 28, 1996
"I lost my passion for work. No, that's a negative statement. I just had a bigger passion for something else, for my son, and growing up with him. Shit, that's what life's about. It wasn't so negative. It was positive." --Caan quoted in Premiere, December 1991.
