Bronx-native James Caan, born March 26, 1940, has had a tumultuous personal and professional life, but has fought to remain at the top of the list of reputable actors and well–respected men. Caan, whose parents were Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany, played football for Michigan State University, achieved a black belt in karate and for several years was even a regular on the rodeo circuit, (where he was nicknamed "The Jewish Cowboy") before he persued his interest in acting.

After remarkable performances in several off-Broadway productions, El Dorado (starring John Wayne) and TV film Brian’s Song, Francis Ford Coppola took notice of Caan and casted him as gangster Santino "Sonny" Corleone in the The Godfather released in 1972. Caan received a Best Supporting Actor nomination and appeared in sequel The Godfather: Part II two years later, and has remained well-known as “Sonny” and mistaken as having an Italian heritage to his fans (he is of Jewish German decent).

In the early 1970’s Caan appeared in a multitude of films alongside some of the best actors of that time, Alan Arkin, Robert Duvall, Barbara Streisand, etc. and his popularity continued to grow. But soon after, several of his films such as Harry and Walter Go To New York and Comes a Horseman, flopped with fans and critics alike and Caan’s fast track to stardom came to an abrupt halt.

Caan turned to cocaine, and did not appear in any films for the better half of the early eighties. After suffering from depression over his sister’s death and trying to cope with his addiction to drugs, Caan took a chance at Hollywood once again in 1987 with the Francis Ford Coppola Vietnam War based film, Gardens of Stone.

Caan lifted his career and visibility with films in the late 80’s and early 90’s such as Dick Tracy, Misery Honeymoon in Vegas, Eraser, and Elf to name a few, and the demand for Caan from producers and audiences was again on the rise. In the 1990’s Caan finally kicked his cocaine addiction of 20 years and introduced himself to a new generation of fans through several successful film roles and his latest part on television’s hit series, Las Vegas. Caan is currently married to Linda Stokes, (his fourth marriage), and his career is on fire. He will one day be a legend, but for now, he is a great actor and will always be “Sonny - the guy you don’t want to mess with,” James Caan.

A few very James Caan quotes by James Caan:

“To get over my divorce, I got a prescription to live at the Playboy Mansion for a while.”

“I don't think silicone makes a girl good or bad.”

"What's the difference between sex and love? I have four wives and five kids. I apparently don't know the difference. "

"I always thought of myself as some sort of athlete until I started playing golf a couple years ago."

“I've never missed a day's work in my life, even through all the shit. But there were days when I was not on my best behavior.”

I'll see a beautiful girl walking up to me and I'll think, Oh, my God, I can't believe my good luck. But then she'll say, "Where's your son?" or "My mother loves you."

“There's nothing more boring than actors talking about acting. I never saw my dad cry. My son saw me cry. My dad never told me he loved me, and consequently I told Scott I loved him every other minute. The point is, I'll make less mistakes than my dad, my sons hopefully will make less mistakes than me, and their sons will make less mistakes than their dads. And one of these days, maybe we'll raise a perfect Caan.
[By, Lauren Weiss]

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