Biography
Despite an up-and-down career that was mired by excess and irrational behavior, actor James Caan was a gifted performer who was as capable of pulling heart strings as he was of breaking someone's kneecaps. Caan emerged from the cauldron of New York City's thriving acting scene in the 1950s to become a noted player on the stage and on television. Though he graduated to films soon after his salad days in New York after swearing off television …
James Caan SlideShow
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Career Milestones
1960 | Made his acting debut on the stage in "La Ronde" (billed as Jimmy Caan) |
1961 | First Broadway play, "Blood, Sweat, and Stanley Poole" |
1961 | Made TV episodic debut on "Naked City" (ABC) |
1963 | Film acting debut, "Lady in a Cage" |
1963 | First film appearance, played a bit part in "Irma la Douce" |
1967 | Appeared in "El Dorado" with John Wayne and Robert Mitchum |
1968 | Landed starring role in Robert Altman's second feature film "Countdown" |
1969 | First screen collaboration with Francis Ford Coppola, "The Rain People" |
1971 | Won acclaim as dying football player Brian Piccolo in the ABC movie "Brian's Song"; earned Emmy nomination |
1972 | Re-teamed with Coppola to play Sonny Corleone in "The Godfather"; garnered Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor |
1973 | Co-starred with Marsha Mason for first time in "Cinderella Liberty"; also first film with director Mark Rydell |
1974 | Earned praise for his leading role in "The Gambler"; earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor |
1975 | Played Billy Rose opposite Barbra Streisand in "Funny Lady"; earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor |
1979 | Played opposite Mason again in "Chapter Two" |
1980 | Made his feature directing debut with "Hide in Plain Sight"; also starred |
1981 | Played the title role of a professional safe cracker in Michael Mann's "Thief" |
1987 | Returned to films after a five-year absence in Coppola's "Gardens of Stone" |
1990 | Played Spuds Spaldoni in Warren Beatty's feature adaptation of the comic strip character "Dick Tracy" |
1990 | Played writer Paul Sheldon opposite Kathy Bates as the obsessive fan in the thriller "Misery," based on the novel by Stephen King |
1991 | Co-starred with Bette Midler in the Mark Rydell directed "For the Boys" |
1992 | Garnered praise for his turn as a Las Vegas gambler in "Honeymoon in Vegas" |
1993 | Co-starred as Dennis Quaid's father in "Flesh and Bone" |
1996 | Appeared in Wes Anderson's debut feature "Bottle Rocket" |
1996 | Played supporting role in "A Boy Called Hate"; first film opposite his son Scott Caan |
1998 | Portrayed detective Philip Marlowe in the HBO movie "Poodle Springs," adapted from Raymond Chandler's unfinished novel |
1999 | Cast as Hugh Grant's crime boss father-in-law in the comedy "Mickey Blue Eyes" |
1999 | Cast as an Irish schoolteacher investigating his roots in "This Is My Father" |
2000 | Portrayed a mob-connected NYC subway contractor in "The Yards" |
2002 | Cast in lead role in the USA Network film "Hearts of Men" |
2003 | Appeared as The Big Man in Lars von Trier's "Dogville" |
2003 | Cast as Big Ed Deline, the head of the surveillance team for a Vegas casino on the NBC drama "Las Vegas"; left the show's after the fourth season |
2003 | Played Will Ferrell's biological father in the comedy "Elf" |
2008 | Cast as The President in the film adaptation of "Get Smart," based on the 1960s spy parody television series |
2009 | Voiced Flint's father in the animated feature "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" |
2010 | Cast opposite Luke Wilson in the crime film "Middle Men" |
2010 | Cast opposite his son Scott Caan in "Mercy"; film also written and produced by his son |
2012 | Co-starred with Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg in "That's My Boy" |
2012 | Guest starred opposite his son Scott on the reboot of "Hawaii Five-0" (CBS) |
Awards
1965 | Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year - Actor |
1972 | Academy Award for Actor In a Supporting Role in The Godfather |
1972 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture in The Godfather |
1974 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama in The Gambler |
1975 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy Or Musical in Funny Lady |