James Caan
American, Actor
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- He took a break from acting between 1982 and 1987, as he was dealing with a series of personal crises. During this time, he was suffering from a debilitating c**aine addiction and also experiencing depression following his sister’s death from leukemia in 1981.
- Caan was trained in martial arts and was also a highly-skilled golfer.
- He was offered the lead role in Superman (1978), but he scoffed at the idea of having a wear a ridiculous costume.
- Caan had turned down several high-profile roles that could have catapulted him to stardom. These include the role of Randle McMurphy (played by Jack Nicholson) in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), Han Solo (played by Harrison Ford) in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), Rocky Balboa (played by Sylvester Stallone) in Rocky (1976), Ted Kramer (played by Dustin Hoffman) in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), Jimmy ‘Popeye’ Doyle (played by Gene Hackman) in The French Connection (1971), etc.
- While filming Mickey Blue Eyes (1999) with Hugh Grant, he nicknamed the English actor as ‘Whippy’ after an English dog breed called Whippet that shivers a lot.
- Studied Economics in Michigan State University.
- Has a son named Alexander James Caan (b. April 10th 1991) with Ingrid Hajek.
- Some sources give his birth year as 1939.
- Tested for the role of Ted Henderson in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969).
- Has a daughter named Tara Caan with Dee Jay Mathis.
- Sons with Linda Stokes: James Arthur Caan (b. 6 November 1995) and Jacob Nicholas Caan (b. September 24th 1998).
- Son of Arthur & Sophie Caan. His father was a kosher butcher.
- Two generations of his family and the Coppola family have worked together. He worked with Francis Ford Coppola most memorably in the first two Godfather films (The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather: Part II (1974)) and in Gardens of Stone (1987). His son, Scott Caan, appeared in Sonny (2002), which was directed by Nicolas Cage and featured Cage and his brother, Marc Coppola. Sonny was also the name of Caan's "Godfather" character.
- According to the British documentary The Godfather and the Mob (2006) (TV), Caan was regularly seen with Gambino family underboss Carmine Persico (aka "Junior") during the filming of The Godfather (1972). As Persico was under surveillance by the FBI at the time, Caan came under almost equal scrutiny.
- His film contracts during his rodeo days had written in them that he could not compete in rodeos during filming. This was for fear he would injure or kill himself.
- Was originally tested for the role of Sonny Corleone in The Godfather (1972) (director Francis Ford Coppola had worked with him and Robert Duvall in The Rain People (1969) and wanted them in the movie), but then was slated to play Michael Corleone after Paramount's initial choices (which included Warren Beatty, Robert Redford and Ryan O'Neal) did not pan out. When Al Pacino came on board, Caan was switched back to Sonny.
- Has a black belt in karate.
- Appears in Misery (1990), which was directed by Rob Reiner. His son, Scott Caan, appeared in Ocean's Eleven (2001) and Ocean's Twelve (2004), opposite Reiner's father, Carl Reiner.
- After being turned down by Jack Nicholson and Al Pacino, Julia Phillips inquired of Caan's agent if he would be interested in taking the lead role of Roy Neary in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). Caan's agent responded that he would read the script for a guarantee of $1 million plus 10% of the gross if he accepted the role. Phillips went with the original choice, Richard Dreyfuss.
- Spent 9 years on the pro rodeo circuit.
- Studied in The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater in New York.
- Was a drama major at Hofstra University on Long Island, New York.
- In the Godfather trilogy, Andy Garcia plays the son of Caan's character, Sonny Corleone. In Ocean's Eleven (2001) and Ocean's Twelve (2004), Caan's son, Scott Caan, works with Garcia.
- Father of actor Scott Caan.