Born on March 26, 1940, in New York, James Edmund Caan better known as James Cann is a prolific American actor. With his role of Santino Sonny Corleone in 1972’s The Godfather, that made him an Oscar-nominated legend, Caan established himself as a top acting talent. But his personal life and career have had significant ups and downs.
Early life in the Cine-World and Oscar Nomination–
With the 1963 movie Irma la Douce, Cann made his debut in the world of cinema. Back then, who would have thought that the son of Jewish butcher could leave an indelible mark in the film industry? After that, he shared the screen with the Hollywood greats like Robert Mitchum and John Wayne in the movies Red Line 7000 that released in 1965 and Western El Dorado 1967. In both the movies, Cann played an exceptional character.
But his best was yet to come when he played the role of cancer-stricken Chicago Bears running back Brian Piccolo in the highly rated made-for-TV film Brian’s Song (1971). Cann’s performance in this movie made him noticed by the great director Francis Ford Coppola who cast him as hot-tempered gangster Santino “Sonny” Corleone in the Mafia epic The Godfather. James Caan got Oscar nomination for the Best Supporting Actor for his role in this movie. He was also nominated for the same category in the Golden Globe Awards.
Since then, Cann never looked back and gave some of the remarkable performances in his upcoming movies. Here is a filmography of James Cann-
- Funny Lady (1975)
- Rollerball (1975)
- Silent Movie (1976)
- A Bridge Too Far (1977)
- Thief (1981)
- Alien Nation (1988)
- Dick Tracy (1990)
- Misery (1990)
- Honeymoon in Vegas (1992)
- Bottle Rocket (1996)
- Eraser (1996)
- Bulletproof (1996)
- Mickey Blue Eyes (1999)
- The Way of the Gun (2000)
- Dogville (2003)
- Las Vegas (TV series, 2003-07)
- Elf (2003)
- Get Smart (2008)
- That’s My Boy (2012)
- Back in the Game (TV series, 2013)
His love for acting never ended and this Oscar-nominated legend teamed with the famous Canadian director and homegrown auteur Frank D’Angelo and fellow Oscar nominee Robert Loggia in the movie The Red Maple Leaf in 2016 and gave a memorable performance in the role of Senator George Lawrence Secord. Frank D’Angelo used him in the most brilliant way and get the best out of this super-talented actor.
The movie lovers from all over the world are expecting more from this veteran actor in the coming years.
The Canadian Star 