James Edmund Caan (March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor, who was best known for his roles as Santino "Sonny" Corleone in The Godfather (which earned him an Academy Award nomination), Paul Sheldon in Misery, "Big" Ed Deline in Las Vegas, and also Will Ferrell's father in Elf.
Caan was also well known for his Emmy Award-nominated performance as NFL player Brian Piccolo in the 1971 TV movie Brian's Song, co-starring Billy Dee Williams; it's been noted that this film is one of only two sports movies (the other being Field of Dreams) that is capable of making grown men cry.
He was the roommate, friend, and frequent costar of Robert Duvall in the 1960s and early '70s, and for a brief period in the latter decade actually lived in the Playboy Mansion.
Caan was married four times and had five children, including actor Scott Caan (Hawaii Five-0), and is reportedly the only person to have ever escaped after going to work for the Sunshine Cab Company.
Partial filmography:
- Irma la Douce (1963) — Soldier with Radio (uncredited)
- Lady in a Cage (1964) — Randall
- El Dorado (1966) — "Mississippi"
- Countdown (1967) — Lee Stegler
- The Rain People (1969) — Jimmy Kilgannon
- Rabbit, Run (1970) — Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom
- Brian's Song (TV movie, 1971) — Brian Piccolo
- The Godfather (1972) — Sonny Corleone
- Freebie and the Bean (1974) — Freebie
- The Gambler (1974) — Axel Freed
- The Killer Elite (1975) — Mike Locken
- Rollerball (1975) — Jonathan E
- Silent Movie (1976) — Himself (cameo)
- A Bridge Too Far (1977) — Sgt. Eddie Dohun
- Hide In Plain Sight (1980) — Thomas Hacklin Jr. (also director)
- Thief (1981) — Frank
- Alien Nation (1988) — Matthew Sikes
- Dick Tracy (1990) — Spud Spaldoni
- Misery (1990) — Paul Sheldon
- Honeymoon in Vegas (1992) — Tommy Korman
- Bottle Rocket (1996) — Mr. Henry
- Eraser (1996) — U.S. Marshal Robert Deguerin
- Bulletproof (1996) — Frank Colton
- Mickey Blue Eyes (1999) — Frank Vitale
- The Way of the Gun (2000) — Joe Sarno
- Dogville (2003) — The Big Man
- Las Vegas (TV series, 2003-07) — "Big Ed" Deline
- Elf (2003) — Walter Hobbs
- Get Smart (2008) — The President
- Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) — Tim Lockwood (voice)
- Henry's Crime (2010) — Max Saltzman
- That's My Boy (2012) — Father McNally
- Back in the Game (TV series, 2013) — Terry "The Cannon" Gannon Sr.
