James Caan, the Bronx-born actor who starred in “The Godfather,” “Brian’s Song,” “El Dorado” and “Misery” among countless other films, has died. He was 82.
“It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Jimmy on the evening of July 6. The family appreciates the outpouring of love and heartfelt condolences and asks that you continue to respect their privacy during this difficult time,” a statement on his official Twitter account read.
No cause of death was immediately given.
Caan, who was best known for playing Santino “Sonny” Corleone, the brother to Al Pacino’s Michael, reflected on the iconic Francis Ford Coppola film for its 50th anniversary earlier this year.
“One of the things that made ‘The Godfather’ successful, besides brilliant directing and writing and wonderful actors … was that everyone really enjoyed making it, and that comes off on the screen,” Caan told The Post in March 2022. “And I think the audience can tell that we were having a good time doing what we were doing up there.
Caan also called his co-star Brando “great” and suggested he had a significant sense of humor.
“Marlon was great,” Caan said of Brando. “He had a great sense of humor, but he would have trouble figuring out the f—ing punch line sometimes. We’d go to lunch — those stupid Polish jokes were coming out at the time … and then two hours later, in the middle of a scene, I’d look at him and say something and all the sudden [imitates Brando laughing] I’d say, ‘What the f–k’s the matter with you?’ and he said [referring to the joke] ‘That’s funny.’ Two hours later it was playing in his f—ing head. He was like a child like that. I loved him.”
As for “The Godfather” as a whole, he said the film is sincere — but also revealed he was gunning for Pacino’s part.
“Yeah, I had a number of auditions for different parts,” he told Variety. “I wanted to play Sonny, because that’s what Francis wanted. But he called me one night from New York and said, “Jimmy the studio wants you to come here and test.” I said, “test what? You got a Porsche you want me to drive around the block?” And Francis told me they wanted me to play Michael. So I went to New York and read for the role and then they had Al [Pacino] come in and test and he was a little self-destructive. They warned him, don’t do that again or you’re fired. But Francis got what he wanted in the end. He always does.”
He also said working with the film’s cast was as legendary as the movie, which is beloved by fans decades on.
“There’s something that doesn’t get dated and that’s the truth,” he said. “‘The Godfather’ has a lot of truth to it, a lot of sincerity to it and a lot of art. The cast was great and we all had a lot of fun making it. Having fun and liking the people you’re working with is a very important ingredient, which I found out after 130 movies or whatever.”
Caan also said the scene in which Sonny brutally is taken out was done in just one take.
“F–k yeah,” he said. “Once was enough.”
He also added that the squibs, or miniature explosive devices, “would blow a hole in you.”
“It was very scary. I had 147 squibs on me and there were 5,000 in the tollbooth and the truth is that I only did it because there were girls on the set. I remember [special effects head] A.D. Flowers putting these wires on me, and as he’s putting them on me he’s mumbling to himself about how he never put this many squibs on somebody in his life. I told him, ‘shut the f–k up A.D., will ya for god’s sake?’ Thankfully we only did it once.”
This is a developing story.
