“When it comes to the action, I’m as good as anybody, and don’t forget it,” James Caan’s famous Godfather character, Sonny Corleone said in what is one of the franchise’s many iconic lines. Caan, who passed away on Wednesday, made a living being part of Hollywood action for decades, usually playing a “tough guy,” but also showing a great deal of versatility and range throughout his long career.
Caan got his start in television in the early 1960s before moving into television in the early 1970s, where he received great critical acclaim for his roles as a dying football player in Brian’s Song and the iconic mob man The Godfather in 1971 and 1972 respectively, receiving Oscar and Emmy nominations for Brian’s Song and being part of the ensemble Godfather cast and crew that was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, winning three, including the award for best picture. Caan reprised his role in The Godfather II as well as the TV miniseries “The Godfather Saga.”
A former athlete, he also played Coach Sam Winters in 1993’s The Program, a film that grossed over $20 million at the box office and is widely regarded as one of football’s most iconic fictitious films. Caan played a famous author in Misery, a film by famous real-life author Stephen King. He continued to play a “tough guy” in Gardens of Stone, a film about a Vietnam vet guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. However, he also showed his comedic side in the Christmas holiday classic Elf, where played Will Ferrel’s reluctant father. He also voiced himself in animated appearances on Family Guy and The Simpsons.
Many celebrities took to social media to memorialize the late actor and express support for his family including Francis Ford Coppola, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Rob Reiner, Billy Dee Williams, Ethan Embry, Kathy Bates, Piers Morgan, Gary Sinise, and more.
No cause of death was immediately available.