James Caan

Actor

1 title

Date of Birth: 1940-03-26 (Passed away at age 82)
Nationality: United States
Place of birth: The Bronx, New York, USA

Awards:

James Edmund Caan (March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor who was nominated for several awards, including four Golden Globes, an Emmy, and an Oscar. After early roles in Howard Hawks's El Dorado (1966), Robert Altman's Countdown (1967) and Francis Ford Coppola's The Rain People (1969), he came to prominence for playing his signature role of Sonny Corleone in The Godfather (1972), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor.

Mini Bio

Caan was awarded a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1978. He reprised the role of Sonny Corleone in The Godfather Part II (1974) with a cameo appearance at the end. Caan had significant roles in films such as Brian's Song (1971), Cinderella Liberty (1973), The Gambler (1974), Rollerball (1975), A Bridge Too Far (1977), and Alan J. Pakula's Comes a Horseman (1978). He had sporadically worked in film since the 1980s, with his notable performances including roles in Thief (1981), Gardens of Stone (1987), Misery (1990), Dick Tracy (1990), Bottle Rocket (1996), The Yards (2000), Dogville (2003), and Elf (2003).

Backstage

While on sabbatical from acting he coached a Little League baseball team. There was an incident where his team's weakest player hit a home run that won a game. Caan said that this was one of the greatest moments of his life.
In the 1990s he kicked a cocaine habit of some 20 years.
His film contracts during his rodeo days had provisions that he would not compete during filming.
Spent nine years on the pro rodeo circuit.
He turned down the lead role in Superman (1978), because he balked at wearing such a costume.
Turned down Jack Nicholson's role in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975). Not one to repeat that mistake, he accepted the lead role in Misery (1990) when Nicholson turned it down. Both films involved the lead character being at the mercy of a sadistic nurse.
States that Thief (1981) is one of his favorite films.
Briefly lived at the Playboy Mansion in the 1970s.

Movies

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