James Caan is an American actor and director. Best known for her role as Sonny Corleone in The Godfather. Also appeared in the popular paintings "Player", "Thief", "Bridge Too Far" and "Misery". Oscar and Golden Globe Nominees. In total, during his career he appeared in 125 television series and feature films.
Childhood and youth
James Caan was born March 26, 1940 in the Bronx, New York. The actor’s parents are Jewish immigrants who moved to the United States from Germany. James's father worked as a butcher. As a child, Caan and his family moved to Queens, where he grew up and graduated from high school.
He studied at the University of Michigan, after which he transferred to the New York University of Hofstra, where his classmate was Francis Ford Coppola. James Caan did not graduate from the university, but while studying he became interested in acting and enrolled in one of the most prestigious acting schools of the Big Apple.
Carier start
In the early sixties, James Caan began appearing in Broadway productions. He also actively worked on television, appeared in small roles in many successful projects of that era.
In 1964, he starred in the thriller Woman in a Cage. A year later, appeared in the Western "Goodfellas." During this period, in his own words, Kaan refused to play a role in one extremely successful series, as he was interested in more serious works.
First successes
In 1965, James Caan appeared in Howard Hawks's legendary director Red Line 7000. The picture turned out to be a box office failure, but the director still invited the young actor to his next project, Western Eldorado, where James worked with the legendary John Wayne.
In 1969, the first joint film by James Caan and Francis Ford Coppola "Rain People" was released. Psychological drama received several festival prizes and excellent reviews from critics. The following year, the actor played a major role in the adaptation of John Updike's novel "Rabbit Run."
Almost all films with the participation of James Caan turned out to be unprofitable financially, which led to the fact that the actor ceased to call in major projects. In 1971, he played in the television movie "Brian's Song", for which he received an Emmy Award nomination.
Career heyday
A breakthrough film for James Caan was the gangster saga "The Godfather". He played the eldest son of Don Corleon Sonny and for this work received an Academy Award nomination in the category "Best Supporting Actor." The film was extremely successful at the box office, received many awards and is still considered one of the best films of all time. Initially, Caan was supposed to play the role of Michael, however, both he and Coppola made sure that the producers gave this part to Al Pacino, and James appeared in the picture in a different role.
In subsequent years, James Caan began to actively star in major projects, receiving many major roles. He appeared in the thriller The Player, the romantic comedy Dismissal Before Midnight, the police action movie Fribie and Bean, and the musical Funny Lady over the next three years. He also returned to the role of Sonny Corleone in the final scene of the sequel to The Godfather.
In 1975, two large-budget projects with the participation of James Caan were released. The actor appeared in the action movie Rollerball and the Killer Elite. At this time, he changed agent and began to try himself in other roles, playing several comedic roles. In 1977, appeared in the large-scale military film "The Bridge is Too Far".
In 1980, Kaan’s directorial debut came out, the drama "Hide in plain sight", which received a warm welcome from critics, but became a box office failure. James did not return to the craft of director.
In the eighties, the actor became much less successful projects, one can distinguish perhaps the cult crime drama "Thief". He temporarily retired from the profession after the death of his sister and the fight against drug addiction. In 1990, he starred in the horror film Misery, which became a big hit.
Late work
In subsequent years, the actor appeared mainly in secondary roles, often playing gangsters. He also worked in independent cinema, many films went almost unnoticed.
2003 was one of the most successful years in the creative biography of James Caan, two projects with his participation were released: the festival drama "Dogville" and the comedy "Elf". From 2003 to 2007, he also starred in the TV series "Las Vegas", later left the project and was replaced by Tom Selleck.
James Caan continues to actively star in films and TV shows to this day, successfully balancing between commercial projects and festival films.
Personal life
The actor was married four times, James has four children and five grandchildren. One of his sons, Scott, is a popular film and theater actor. At the moment, Kaan is divorced.
James Kaan has been practicing karate for over thirty years. It has the sixth dan. Also in his youth was fond of rodeo.