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James Edmund "Jimmy" Caan (born March 26, 1940) is an American Academy Award-, Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated American film, stage and television actor. He is best-known for his Academy Award nominated role of Santino 'Sonny' Corleone in 1972's The Godfather, Paul Sheldon in Stephen King's Misery and for his role as Ed Deline on Las Vegas. After some stage experience, James Caan began his film career with an uncredited bit part in "Irma La Douce" (1963). Tall and curly-haired, with a ruddy complexion, Caan gained prominence in the early 1970s with two powerful performances: as the cancer-stricken football player in the made-for-TV-movie "Brian's Song" (ABC, 1971) and as the hot-tempered eldest son Santino "Sonny" Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather" (1972). He used the stardom he derived from playing Sonny Corleone in the latter to star in Karel Reisz's "The Gambler" (1974). That same year, he co-starred with Alan Arkin in "Freebie and the Bean" before moving on to play a sailor who falls for Marsha Mason in "Cinderella Liberty" (1975). He oozed charm (and displayed a passable singing voice) as Billy Rose opposite Barbra Streisand's redux as Fanny Brice in "Funny Lady" (1975), but most of Caan's films had neither box office success nor prestige. He had a good turn, again opposite Mason, in the film version of Neil Simon's autobiographical play "Chapter Two" (1979), although it was not a hit, and suffered the flop of playing the ghost of Sally Field's lovable but philandering choreographer husband (modeled on Bob Fosse) in "Kiss Me Goodbye" (1982). A masculine and enigmatic actor whose life and movie career have had more ups and downs than the average rollercoaster and whose selection of roles has arguably derailed him from achieving true superstar status, James Caan is New York born and bred (the son of a butcher). The athletically gifted Caan played football at Michigan State University while studying economics, holds a black belt in karate and for several years was even a regular on the rodeo circuit, where he was nicknamed "The Jewish Cowboy". However, while studying at Hofstra University, he became intrigued by acting and was interviewed and accepted at Sanford Meisner's Neighborhood Playhouse. He then won a scholarship to study under acting coach Wynn Handman and began to appear in several off-Broadway productions, including "I Roam" and "Mandingo". Caan was born in The Bronx, the son of Sophie and Arthur Caan, Jewish emigrants from Germany. His father was a meat dealer. Caan grew up in Sunnyside, Queens. He was educated at the public P.S. 150 Christopher Street School in Brooklyn, New York City, at the private Rhodes Preparatory School, also in New York City, and then attended Michigan State University in East Lansing, studying economics. Caan played college football at the University, and later transferred to Hofstra University in Hempstead, but he did not graduate. However, while studying at Hofstra University, he became intrigued by acting and was interviewed, accepted and graduated from New York City's Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, where one of his instructors was teaching legend Sanford Meisner. Caan began acting in television on such series as The Untouchables, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Kraft Suspense Theatre, Combat!, Ben Casey, Dr. Kildare, The Wide Country, Alcoa Premiere, Route 66, and Naked City. He made his screen debut as a sailor in Irma la Douce (1963) and began to impress audiences with his work in Red Line 7000 (1965) and the western El Dorado (1966) alongside John Wayne and Robert Mitchum. Further work followed in Journey to Shiloh (1968) and in the sensitive The Rain People (1969). However, audiences were moved to tears as he put in a heart-rending performance as cancer-stricken Chicago Bears running back Brian Piccolo in the highly rated made-for-TV film Brian's Song (1971). His first substantial film role was as a villainous punk in the 1964 thriller Lady in a Cage, which starred Olivia de Havilland. In 1967, Caan appeared in El Dorado with John Wayne. He first won praise for his role as a brain-damaged football player in The Rain People (1969), directed by Francis Ford Coppola. In 1971, Caan won more acclaim as dying football player Brian Piccolo in the television movie Brian's Song, which was later released in theaters. The following year, Coppola cast Caan as mobster Sonny Corleone in The Godfather, which also helped launch Al Pacino's career. Caan was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in the film. It was around this time that Caan had his infamous great friendship with the reputed Underboss of the Colombo crime family, the fierce Carmine "Junior" Persico. Caan would eventually be photographed by US law enforcement in surveillance pictures along with Persico, however, due to the fact that the The Godfather hadn't come out yet, the authorities mistook him for another rising mobster in the Colombo crime family, which Persico currently is the Boss of today. From 1973-82, Caan appeared in many Hollywood films. He played a wide variety of roles. His films include Cinderella Liberty, Rollerball, a musical turn in Funny Lady, Harry And Walter Go To New York, A Bridge Too Far, Comes A Horseman and Chapter Two (a play screenplay conversion by Neil Simon). In 1980, Caan directed Hide In Plain Sight a film about a father searching for his children lost in the Witness Protection Program. Despite critical praise, the film was not a hit with the public. The following year, Caan appeared in Thief, directed by Michael Mann, where he played a professional safe cracker. This film is today regarded as a neo-noir classic and Caan has often said it is the role of which he is proudest next to The Godfather. From 1982-87, Caan suffered from depression over his sister's death, a growing problem with cocaine, and what he described as "Hollywood burnout," and did not act in any films. He returned to film in 1987 when Coppola cast him as an army platoon sergeant for the "Old Guard" in Gardens of Stone, a film that dealt with the effect of the Vietnam War on the homefront. In 1988 and 1990, Caan starred in the films Alien Nation, Dick Tracy and Misery (co-star Kathy Bates won a Best Actress Oscar). In 1992, Caan appeared in Honeymoon in Vegas. With these strong performances under his belt, Francis Ford Coppola then cast him as hot-tempered gangster Santino "Sonny" Corleone in the Mafia epic The Godfather (1972). The film was an enormous success, Caan scored a Best Supporting Actor nomination and, in the years since, the role has proven to be the one most fondly remembered by his legion of fans. He reprised the role for several flashback scenes in the sequel The Godfather: Part II (1974) and then moved on to several very diverse projects. These included a cop-buddy crime partnership with Alan Arkin in the uneven Freebie and the Bean (1974), a superb performance as a man playing for his life in The Gambler (1974) alongside Lauren Hutton, and pairing with Barbra Streisand in Funny Lady (1975). Two further strong lead roles came up for him in 1975, first as futuristic sports star "Jonathon E" questioning the moral fiber of a sterile society in Rollerball (1975) and teaming up with Robert Duvall in the Sam Peckinpah spy thriller The Killer Elite (1975). Unfortunately, Caan's rising star sputtered badly at this stage of his career, and several film projects failed to find fire with either critics or audiences. These included such failures as the hokey Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976), the quasi-western Comes a Horseman (1978) and the saccharine Chapter Two (1979). However, he did score again with the stylish Michael Mann-directed heist movie Thief (1981). He followed this with a supernatural romantic comedy titled Kiss Me Goodbye (1982) and then, due to personal conflicts, dropped out of the spotlight for several years before returning with a stellar performance under old friend Francis Ford Coppola in the moving Gardens of Stone (1987). Caan appeared back in favor with fans and critics alike and raised his visibility with the sci-fi hit Alien Nation (1988) and Dick Tracy (1990), then surprised everyone by playing a meek romance novelist held captive after a car accident by a deranged fan in the dynamic Misery (1990). The 1990s were kind to him and he notched up roles as a band leader in For the Boys (1991), another gangster in Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), appeared in the indie hit Bottle Rocket (1996) and pursued Arnold Schwarzenegger in Eraser (1996). The demand on Caan's talents seems to have increased steadily over the past few years as he is making himself known to a new generation of fans. Recent hot onscreen roles have included The Yards (2000), City of Ghosts (2002) and Dogville (2003). In addition, he finds himself at the helm of the hit TV series "Las Vegas" (2003) as casino security chief "Big Ed" Deline. An actor of undeniably manly appeal, James Caan continues to surprise and delight audiences with his invigorating performances. In 1990 he starred in Misery, In 1996, he appeared in Bottle Rocket and pursued Arnold Schwarzenegger in Eraser. In 1999, Caan portrayed Philip Marlowe in the HBO film Poodle Springs. Some of his most recent appearances have been in The Yards (2000), City of Ghosts (2002), Dogville (2003), and Elf (2003). In 2003, he auditioned and won the role of the head security officer 'Big Ed' Deline in Las Vegas. On February 27, 2007, Caan announced that he would not return to Las Vegas for the show's fifth season in order to return to film work. That same year, he was replaced by Tom Selleck. He will appear in the 2008 film Get Smart. Caan has been married four times. In 1960, he married Dee Jay Mathis/Mattis; and divorced in 1966. They had one child Tara A. Caan (born November 5, 1964). His second marriage to Sheila Ryan, former girlfriend of music legend Elvis Presley, in 1976 was short-lived: they divorced the following year. His son, Scott Caan, was born August 23, 1976. From September 1990 to March 1995, Caan was married to Ingrid Hajek; they also had one child, Alexander James Caan (born April 10, 1991). He married Linda Stokes in October 1996, and they have two children, James Arthur Caan (born November 6, 1995) and Jacob Nicholas Caan (born September 24, 1998). Caan is a practicing martial artist. He has trained with karate master Tak Kubota for nearly thirty years, earning various ranks. He trained the Culver City Police department in martial arts use. Caan is an avid golfer with an 8 handicap. He played in the LPGA pro-am event in Aventura FL on April 23-25, 2008. |
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