Biography

James Caan

Posted on Feb 14, 2021, Modified : Feb 21, 2021 Luniva Taujale

Table of Contents

Who is James Caan?

James Caan is an American actor who rose to prominence with the role of the iconic hot-tempered Santino Sonny Corleone’ in the 1972 American crime movie, ‘The Godfather’. For this role, he was nominated by the Academy award as well as the Golden Globe award in the Best Supporting Actor award category. Before this, he was nominated by the Golden Globe award in the year 1965 for the portrayal of the role of Private Anthony Dugan in the American Western movie, ‘The Glory Guys’ in the New Star of the Year award category.

Quick Infos
Full Name	James Caan
Date of birth	26 March, 1949
Birth Place	New York, United States
Parent(s)	Sophie Falkenstein and Arthur Caan
Occupation	Actor
Age	80
Height	5ft 9in
Nationality	American
Net Worth	$20 Million

Likewise, he is also well-known for playing the role of Billy Rose in the 1975 American biographical musical comedy-drama movie, ‘Funny Lady’ for which he received another Golden Globe Award nomination in the Best Actor award category. In addition to this, he is a recipient of numerous awards and accolades including one Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, USA award, and one Golden Boot award.

Bio, Parents, Young, and Childhood

James Caan’s full name is James Edmund Caan. He was born on 26 March 1949 in The Bronx, New York, the United States to mother, Sophie Falkenstein, and to father, Arthur Caan who was a butcher and a meat dealer. He was born and raised alongside his siblings who’s names are Ronnie Caan and Barbara Caan in Sunnyside, Queens, New York, United States. Besides this, he is currently 80 years old with the zodiac sign of Aries.

Nationality, Age, Weight, and Height

James Caan holds an American nationality and belongs to Ashkenazi Jewish ethnicity. He is Jewish and practices Judaism as his religion. Besides this, he stands at a height of 5 feet and 9 inches (1.75m/175cms) tall and weighs around 72kgs (159lbs). Moreover, he has a slim body build with a pair of blue-colored eyes and grey-colored hair.

Education and University

James Caan studied in the Rhodes Preparatory School and completed his schooling from there. For further studies, he studied at the Michigan State University and then the Hofstra University but did not graduate. While he was studying at the Hofstra University, his classmates included American movie director, producer and screenwriter, Francis Ford Coppola, and the American actress and singer, Lainie Kazan.

However, he showed interest in acting while studying at Hofstra and later enrolled in the Neighborhood Playhouse School where he studied and graduated in acting. One of his instructors in the Neighborhood Playhouse School was the American actor and acting teacher, Sanford ‘Sandy’ Meisner.

Personal Life, Spouses, and Children’s

James Caan was married to Dee Jay Mathis from the year 1961 to the year 1966. In between these years, they were blessed with a daughter whose name is Tara Caan. Later, he was involved in a relationship with Sheila Marie Ryan from the year 1976 to the year 1977.

The couple together has a son whose name is Scott Caan who is also an actor. After separating from Sheila, he was married to Ingrid Hajek from the year 1990 to the year 1995. In the year 1991, they were blessed with their son whose name is Alexander James Caan. Finally, he was married to Linda Stokes from the year 1995 to the year 2017. In between these years, they had two sons whose names are James Arthur Caan and Jacob Nicholas.

Social

James Caan is not active on any social media platforms.

Career

Movies

James Caan gave his debut performance in the year 1963 when he played an uncredited role of a soldier with a radio in the 1963 American romantic comedy movie, ‘Irma la Douce’. His first credited role came in the year 1964 when he played the role of Randall Simpson O’Connell in the American psychological thriller movie, ‘Lady in a Cage’.

The breakthrough moment of James Caan’s career came in the year 1965 when he played the role of Private Anthony Dugan in the American Western movie, ‘The Glory Guys’ alongside Matthew McConaughey and Fiona Gubelmann. In between the years 1965 and 1969, he has appeared in movies like ‘Red Line 7000’, ‘El Dorado’ in the year 1967, ‘Journey to Shiloh’ in the year 1968, and ‘The Rain People’ in the year 1969. In the year 1970, he was nominated for an Emmy award for the portrayal of the role of Brian Piccolo in the biographical movie, ‘Brian’s Song’.

Likewise, his most notable roles came in the year 1972 when he played the role of Santino ‘Sonny’ Corleone in the American crime movie, ‘The Godfather’, in the year 1974 when he played the role of Axel Freed in the American crime drama movie, ‘The Gambler’, in the year 1975 when he played the role of Billy Rose in the American biographical musical comedy-drama movie, ‘Funny Lady’ and the role of Jonathan E. in the science fiction sports movie, ‘Rollerball’.

Moreover, he gave his debut as a director and also starred as a sailor in the 1979 American period war comedy action movie, ‘1941’. Furthermore, he has also starred in movies like ‘Misery’, ‘Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead’, ‘Howard Hawks: American Artist’, ‘The Way of the Gun’, ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2’, ‘The Tale of the Princess Kaguya’ and ‘Undercover Grandpa’. His most recent work came in the year 2018 when he played the role of Colonel Tom Rockwell in the crime drama movie, ‘Out of Blue’.

Achievements, Awards, and Honors

James Caan was awarded the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, USA’s Best Actor award for his work in the movie, ‘Rollerball’ in the year 1976 and with the Action on Film International Film Festival, USA’s Outstanding Cast Performance award alongside the cast of ‘The Red Maple Leaf’ in the year 2016. Likewise, he has also won 6 more awards and accolades from numerous critics’ circles during his career as a professional actor.