James Caan
James Caan (March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) is famous for only three films. Two Godfathers and the victim of a mad fan who hated his acting in both of those films. That's not a lot.
Caan was the curly haired thespian mobster Sonny Corleone in The Godfather. He does a lot of arm waving and shouting out his lines that you think he is going to be the film's star. Except at about a half of the way in he is shot to death for not having a loose change to pay a road toll. The same character reappears in The Godfather Part II as a ghost and then gets name checked again in The Godfather Part III as the father of Vincent Corleone who eventually becomes the new Godfather to replace a retired Michael Corleone. The problem for Caan is that he believed he was THE STAR of any film he got involved in. By the end his career had been reduced to parodies and guest film roles no one can remember anything about.
Early days[edit]
Bronx born Caan used his own accent when playing Sonny in the films. He got the gig because of the film director Francis Ford Coppola remember Caan beating him for his pocket money at university. Remembering the insults and bruises, Coppola wanted Caan in his films. He got a role in a weirdo late 1960s film The Rain People about a weather forcasting radio station taken over by a cult. Caan's relentless macho acting in that encouraged Coppola to sign up for The Godfather.
Under pressure from the film company they thought Caan was ideal for the cold eyed revenger Michael Corleono. Al Pacino got that film role ahead of Caan. Knowing he was going to die in the film, Caan asked to leave the film project but got his arm twisted by Coppola to stay on. Caan did.
Staying in character[edit]
Once it was confirmed that Caan was going to be Sonny Corleone he re-read the book by Mario Puzo and the shooting script. Sonny was charismatic, headstrong, bull-in-a-china-shop type of personality. He also apparently had an extra large penis. That bit of character description went to Caan's head - and groin. Wow! He matched that too. Now he really was Sonny. No pretty woman was safe from his eye or hands. When others on set complained about Caan's literal 'hands-on' approach to his role, Coppola dismissed these complaints. This was after all the 1970s. Actors - and film directors - acting like sex gods/little Hitlers was commonplace. Problem for Caan was that in the end he believed he was Sonny or a version of him in all his subsquent film outtings.
Finding work hard[edit]
Caan was resentful he didn't get an oscar nomination or the same recognition that Al Pacino and Robert De Niro got for their post Godfather films. He got a few co-starring film roles and tough guy war movies. Northing seemed to work. Caan went back to playing further gangsters until age caught up with him and he got very middle aged fast. He had also acquired a reputation for turning down star roles for other actors who had then carved out their own very successful careers. With his reputation sinking, Caan made films for cash and a small credit. It was then he got the call to appear in a film about a mad woman fan who hated how her favourite author was treating his characters. This film was called Misery.
Misery[edit]
Author Stephen King had written the story about an author who gets lost on his travels and ends up as a prisoner of one his fans. This was a recurrent fear of Stephen King himself. He had this problem before with fans writing to him complaining about his work and how they would have written it different. These were the early years of Life Imitating Art. What if that fan was as mad as a hatter?
One would guess a number of a-list actors turned down the chance to play someone like a writer. The true centre of the story was the fan. Kathy Bates with her printed dresses and physical size made her believable in her role. But this meant the actor playing the author would not be the true centre of the story. Anyway Caan got to hear about the film role. This was a million miles from his usual macho roles. In this you felt sorry for the writer and would give Caan the chance to 'act against character'. He got the role. Kathy Bates won an oscar and Caan? Nada.
Career ends[edit]
Caan realised his high earning days were gone and was quite content to appear in a variety of films. Though no longer in peak fitness, Caan had learnt enough to appear as Hollywood royalty. He was a regular at film festivals and had a extended catalogue of film anecdotes to fill out an evening. More over he died whilst on a film shoot, a way of going out with a bang that all actors believed was the best way to take that final curtain. Caan did just that in 2022. He was in his 80s.