Entertainment Movies From 'The Godfather' to 'Elf', Looking Back on James Caan's Most Memorable Roles The Oscar nominee often played it serious, and was beloved by fans because of it By Kate Hogan Published on July 7, 2022 03:36 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos 01 of 10 James Caan in The Godfather James Caan in The Godfather (1972). CBS via Getty Born in New York City on March 26, 1940, to Sophie and Arthur Caan, Jewish immigrants from Germany, James Caan went to Michigan State University on an athletic scholarship before turning to Off-Broadway, according to a 1975 PEOPLE profile. Following a theater apprenticeship, he moved on to television guest spots and a role in The Rail People that earned him the eye of one Francis Ford Coppola. The director eventually cast him in 1972's The Godfather, earning Caan his sole Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. 02 of 10 James Caan in Brian's Song ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty One year prior, he starred in the wildly popular TV movie Brian's Song, which followed the final years of a terminally ill football player. For that role, he earned an Emmy nomination. "Overnight I was a genius," Caan told PEOPLE in 1975 of his early string of hits. "But it was out-and-out luck." 03 of 10 James Caan in The Gambler Paramount/Getty Caan's role of Axel Freed in 1974's The Gambler — here with Lauren Hutton — earned him his third of four Golden Globe Award nominations. "I don't like sitting around talking about all that acting crap," Caan told PEOPLE in 1975, "but I've always wanted to be respected by the people I respect. My goal is to do good work and not quit trying." 04 of 10 James Caan in Rollerball Silver Screen Collection/Getty "You notice the angry face — that's what they pay me for, the angry face," Caan jokingly recalled in 2013 of the 1975 sci-fi film Rollerball, about a violent worldwide game in a futuristic society (set in ... 2018!). 05 of 10 James Caan in Misery Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection After taking a brief break from the spotlight — and struggling with various legal issues, depression and drugs — Caan returned in pal Rob Reiner's terrifying Misery in 1990. In an interview with EW 25 years after the film's release, Caan recalled sitting in the theater with Reiner and Stephen King, who penned the story, at the premiere. "He really never came to any of his movies. He didn't like his movies," he said of King. "[But] he got so into that." 06 of 10 James Caan in Bottle Rocket Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection Caan appeared in Wes Anderson's very first feature film in 1996 as Mr. Henry, a bad guy with a wild streak. The New York Times called his presence "a lunatic bonhomie that lights a welcome spark." 07 of 10 James Caan in Eraser Warner Bros./courtesy Everett Collection The 1996 action film Eraser paired Caan with Arnold Schwarzenegger, allowing him to once again spread his bad guy wings as villain DeGuerin. 08 of 10 James Caan in Elf New Line/courtesy Everett Collection Caan met a new generation of fans when he played the straight-and-narrow biological father to Will Ferrell's Buddy in 2003's Elf. In a 2020 Rolling Stone interview, director Jon Favreau recalled Caan's "great sense of humor" on set. "If you could make him laugh, all the tension disappears," Favreau said. "We kept him laughing, and he kept us laughing. He was a lot of fun." At the end of filming, Favreau said, Ferrell gave his costar a wrap gift. "He wrote a note that said, 'Great working with you. The first one is a little bit slow, but the second two are really good.' It was The Godfather trilogy." 09 of 10 James Caan on Las Vegas Byron J. Cohen/NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection Caan told CBS in 2021 that he didn't love television, in part because "I fought always never to be the same person. I mean, the fun of being an actor is being somebody else for three months, you know?" However, he had some fun alongside Molly Sims and Josh Duhamel on Las Vegas, starring as casino bigwig Ed Deline from 2003 to 2007. 10 of 10 James Caan on Hawaii Five-0 Norman Shaprio/CBS via Getty In 2012, Caan joined son Scott on an episode of Hawaii Five-0, playing a retired NYPD bomb expert who becomes a private investigator in Oahu. In a 2010 PEOPLE profile, Scott called his dad "one of the greatest actors of all time" and said his father had "always been there for me no matter what." However, he also touched on the pair's "dysfunctional" relationship: the elder Caan had five children with four wives and split from Scott's mom when he was a baby. "He saw me when I was a little rough around the edges," James told PEOPLE at the time. "Now, we're really best buddies. I'm proud that he's grown up so well."