I met James Caan in 1993 when I interviewed him for Brazilian TV Cultura's shows VITRINE and METROPOLIS. James was releasing FLESH & BONE a film in which he starred opposite Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan. It was a suspense thriller and it launched Gwyneth Paltrow’s career. In the film, he played a dark character with a macabre family outlook. But on entering the hotel room, where the TV interview was supposed to take place, I came across a 53-year-old man who was making ridiculous faces at a 2-year-old boy. It was not his grandson, but his son by his third wife, Ingrid Hajek (September 1990 to March 1994). In total, he married four times. With Ingrid, he had a son, Alexander James Caan, born in 1991. It was this child who was there with his wife in the room.
In 1994, when the “Madame Hollywood” Heidi Fleiss scandal erupted, she told Vanity Fair about an affair with Caan while visiting him in Texas on the set of FLESH & BONE. At the time, Caan denied involvement with Fleiss.
I had never met him before, but I knew of his reputation as a tough guy, in the style of the character that forever marked him professionally – Santino Corleone, the GODFATHER’s son.
As soon as he stopped playing with his son and the interview began, I asked him about the image people had of him because of his movie roles. I wanted to know who the real James Caan was. And this is what he replied to me:
“- I'm a guy who likes to watch sports and I love his kids. I love my wife sometimes" He said that and looked at her, to see her reaction: "- I don't think she was listening to me". And laughed. And continued saying: “- The important thing in life, for me, is the family. Of course, we want to be as good an actor as possible. On the other hand, I'm a tough guy. I mean, I think you better not mess with me!”
He said that and gave me a scary look, but then disarmed it: “- I just believe in that golden rule, you know - don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you. That's all we need to know and follow. If so, everything will be just perfect.”
On the same day, I interviewed Dennis Quaid, Gwyneth Paltrow, and finally Meg Ryan. When I started the interview with the actress, I asked her what it was like to spend 4 months isolated in Texas with James Caan, someone who, after interviewing, I could define as “intense”. To which she replied: “That is right, he is intense. You never know what he's going to do or say. But I must say I appreciate that about him. For an actor, this is great because the nature of filming is constant repetition. That can become tricky and even boring after many repetitions. But with him, you never know what might happen and that's a good thing.”
In real life, James Edmund Caan was also unpredictable. He gave up roles that won Oscars to other actors and became box office successes. Films like THE FRENCH CONNECTION, ONE STRANGER IN THE NEST, THIRD DEGREE ENCOUNTERS, KRAMER VS. KRAMER, APOCALYPSE NOW, BLADE RUNNER, LOVE STORY, and SUPERMAN.
Even so, he participated in films that left their mark over time. In addition to Godfather 1 and 2, he has done ROLLERBALL (1975), A BRIDGE TOO FAR (1977), THIEF (1981), GARDENS OF STONE (1987), MISERY (1990), DICK TRACY (1990), HONEYMOON IN VEGAS ( 1992), ERASER (1996), BULLETPROOF (1996), MICKEY BLUE EYES (1999), THE YARDS (2000), DOGVILLE (2003) ELF (2003), plus a host of less memorable ones.
He was nominated for several awards, including four Golden Globes, an Emmy, and an Oscar, without winning any of them. But he got his star on the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard in 1978.
I really like his first major role in cinema, in a 1966 Howard Hawks western, alongside two icons – John Wayne and Robert Mitchum. The movie was EL DORADO, in which Caan plays a cowboy who doesn't know how to shoot but throw knives. In real life, Caan participated in rodeos and boasted that he was "the only Jewish cowboy in New York on the professional rodeo riding circuit," for, in addition to riding well, he knew how to throw a lasso and tie a cow like no one else.
Athletic, he practiced martial arts and trained under master Takayuki Kubota for nearly 30 years, earning several ranks from the International Karate Association.
Caan also starred in the American version of a successful Brazilian film. In 1982, he made the comedy KISS ME GOODBYE, a remake of DONA FLOR AND HER TWO HUSBANDS (1976). The film was directed by Robert Mulligan, with Sally Field, Jeff Bridges, and Caan in the cast. Despite this great team and previous successful film, KISS ME GOODBYE was a flop. Like the audience, he didn't like the film either. He commented years later that it was “one of the most unpleasant experiences of his life”. As a result, he didn't make another film for five years.
I thought it best not to comment on the matter when in 2003 I was called to interview him once again, during the release of ELF. In it, Caan played comedian Will Ferrell’s father. The film was a Christmas hit in the US. And that was the last opportunity I had to talk to him and experience his disconcerting style. The fact is that seeing him on the big screen is always a pleasure. Great actor, always unpredictable. On the day of this last interview, I worked up some courage and asked him to take a picture with me. We took two. Here they are...
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