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Born in 1940 in the Bronx and raised in Queens, New York, James Caan knew early on that he did not want to follow his father’s footsteps and work in the family meat business. He entered Michigan State University at age sixteen to study economics and play football. He transferred to Hofstra University to study law and during a spring break was interviewed by, and accepted to, Sanford Meisner’s Neighborhood Playhouse. He then won a scholarship to study with Wynn Handman and went on to get the first four jobs he auditioned for in the theatre. He began his career on stage in the 1961 off-Broadway production of Arthur Schnitzler’s “La Ronde” and he followed with a powerful slate of guest appearances in virtually every major television series of the day such as “The Untouchables”, “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour”, “Route 66” and “Naked City”.
In 1965, Caan landed his first starring role in Howard Hawks' drama “Red Line 7000”. The year after, he appeared in another Howard Hawks film “El Dorado” opposite John Wayne and Robert Mitchum. In 1968, he had a starring role in Robert Altman's second feature film “Countdown”. He was praised for his role as a brain damaged football star in Francis Ford Coppola's “The Rain People” in 1969. Two years later, his portrayal of football star Brian Piccolo in the television movie “Brian’s Song” directed by Buzz Kulik earned him an Emmy Award nomination.
In 1973, James Caan received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance as Sonny Corleone opposite Al Pacino, Robert Duvall and Marlon Brando in Francis Ford’s Coppola “The Godfather”. The following year, he won acclaim for his role in Karel Reisz’s “The Gambler", garnering him the Best Actor of the Year honor from the National Association of Theater Owners.
In 1980, he directed, as well as starred in, the critically acclaimed drama film “Hide in Plain Sight”. One year later, Caan appeared in the neo-noir film “Thief” directed by Michael Mann in which he played a professional safe cracker. He also earned great recognition starring in Rob Reiner’s highly successful and critically acclaimed film, “Misery” (1990), a psychological thriller starring Kathy Bates, based on the novel by Stephen King. The same year he starred in Warren Beatty’s “Dick Tracy” co-starring with Al Pacino, Madonna and Warren Beatty.
In 2000, Caan starred in James Gray’s “The Yards”, opposite Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron, selected in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
The same year he played in “The Way of the Gun” directed by Christopher McQuarrie, in which he co-starred with Benicio Del Toro. He was also seen in Lars von Trier’s “Dogville”, opposite Nicole Kidman and Lauren Bacall which screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 2003. From 2003 to 2008, Caan starred on the hit NBC series “Las Vegas” for four seasons. His latest films include George Gallo’s “Middlemen”, opposite Luke Wilson and Giovanni Ribisi and Malcolm Venville’s “Henry’s Crime”, co-starring Keanu Reeves and Vera Farmiga.
Partial filmography
Director
1980 HIDE IN PLAIN SIGHT by James Caan
Actor
1964 LADY IN CAGE by Walter Grauman
1965 RED LINE 7000 by Howard Hawks
THE GLORY GUYS by Arnold Laven
1966 EL DORADO by Howard Hawks
1967 GAMES (Le diable à trois) by Curtis Harrington
1968 COUNTDOWN by Robert Altman
JOURNEY TO SHILOH by William Hale
SUBMARINE X-1 by William A. Graham
1969 THE RAIN PEOPLE by Francis Ford Coppola
1970 RABBIT, RUN by Jack Smight
1971 T.R. BASKIN by Herbert Ross
BRIAN’S SONG by Buzz Kulik – télévision
1972 THE GODFATHER ) by Francis Ford Coppola
1973 CINDERELLA LIBERTY by Mark Rydell
SLITHER by Howard Zieff
1974 FREEBIE AND THE BEAN by Richard Rush
THE GAMBLER (Le flambeur) by Karel Reisz
THE GODFATHER: PART II by Francis Ford Coppola
1975 FUNNY LADY by Herbert Ross
GONE WITH THE WEST by Bernard Girard
ROLLERBALL by Norman Jewison
THE KILLER ELITE (Tueur d’élite) by Sam Peckinpah
1976 HARRY AND WALTER GO TO NEW YORK by Mark Rydell
1977 A BRIDGE TOO FAR by Richard Attenborough
UN AUTRE HOMME, UNE AUTRE CHANCE by Claude Lelouch
1978 COMES A HORSEMAN by Alan J. Pakula
1979 CHAPTER TWO by Robert Moore
1980 HIDE IN PLAIN SIGHT by James Caan
1981 LES UNS ET LES AUTRES by Claude Lelouch
THIEF (Le solitaire) by Michael Mann
1982 KISS ME GOODBYE by Robert Mulligan
1987 GARDENS OF STONE by Francis Ford Coppola
1988 ALIEN NATION by Graham Baker
1990 DICK TRACY by Warren Beatty
MISERY by Rob Reiner
1991 FOR THE BOYS by Mark Rydell
THE DARK BACKWARD by Adam Rifkin
1992 HONEYMOON IN VEGAS by Andrew Bergman
1993 FLESH AND BONE by Steve Kloves
THE PROGRAM by David S. Ward
1995 A BOY CALLED HATE by Mitch Marcus
1996 BOTTLE ROCKET by Wes Anderson
BULLETPROOF by Ernest R. Dickerson
ERASER (L’effaceur) by Chuck Russell
NORTH STAR by Nils Gaup
1998 THIS IS MY FATHER by Paul Quinn
1999 MICKEY BLUE EYES by Kelly Makin
2000 LUCKYTOWN by Paul Nicholas
THE WAY OF THE GUN by Christopher McQuarrie
THE YARDS by James Gray
2001 IN THE SHADOWS by Ric Roman Waugh
VIVA LAS NOWHERE by Jason Bloom
2002 CITY OF GHOSTS by Matt Dillon
2003 DOGVILLE by Lars von Trier
ELF (Elfe) by Jon Favreau
JERICHO MANSIONS by Alberto Sciamma
THIS THING OF OURS by Danny Provenzano
2008 GET SMART by Peter Segal
2009 MERCY by Patrick Hoelck
MIDDLEMEN by George Gallo
NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU - Segment BRETT RATNER by Brett Ratner
2010 HENRY’S CRIME by Malcolm Venville
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