James Caan Quotes

No matter what heights you achieve, even if you're Brad Pitt, the slide is coming, sure as death and taxes.

- James Caan

One night I went over to get some dope from some Hollywood tough guy. After I left, my son Scott, who was only fifteen, went over with a baseball bat to kill him. I was laughing out of one eye and crying out of the other. I thought, Who am I kidding?

- James Caan

I never saw my dad cry. My son saw me cry. My dad never told me he loved me, and consequently I told Scott I loved him every other minute. The point is, I'll make less mistakes than my dad, my sons hopefully will make less mistakes than me, and their sons will make less mistakes than their dads.

- James Caan

There are a lot of guys in Hollywood who clap you on the back just a little too hard.

- James Caan

I never did anything else. In college I switched majors every two weeks, and acting was the only thing that held my interest.

- James Caan

Actors have bodyguards and entourages not because anybody wants to hurt them - who would want to hurt an actor? - but because they want to get recognized. God forbid someone doesn't recognize them.

- James Caan

I'm here instead of having shoulder surgery. But I'm not sure which is more painful.

- James Caan

I turned down 'Cuckoo's Nest' four times before Jack got it.

- James Caan

A lot of young actors look up to me, and I wouldn't trade that for any money in the world. I don't want to lose their respect and be a hypocrite.

- James Caan

I remember at 16 years old, growing up in Queens, we were punks, but hey, when we went to the theater, we wore a shirt and tie! Similarly, I believe that to keep movie theaters in existence, they're gonna have to make 'em an event, have a couch, a table and drinks or something. Otherwise, there's no reason to get out of your bed!

- James Caan

Saving a letter from an old friend doesn't exist anymore. Everything is texted or emailed.

- James Caan

Showing up every day isn't enough. There are a lot of guys who show up every day who shouldn't have showed up at all.

- James Caan

Anyone of my generation who tells you he hasn't 'done Brando' is lying.

- James Caan

It's hard to tell writers, especially in movies, that words are secondary. Behavior is important.

- James Caan

My kid was a great baseball player. I thought I had it made. Front-row seats at Yankee Stadium. Then he turned sixteen and wanted to be a rapper.

- James Caan

I didn't have parents I could take a million dollars from. We were a lower-class family.

- James Caan

I think we have to believe in things we don't see. That's really important for all of us, whether it's your religion or Santa Claus, or whatever. That's pretty much what it's about.

- James Caan

My big thing is that I always get typecast.

- James Caan

People are always backing up when I'm just going to shake their hands.

- James Caan

There's a big difference between wanting to work and having to work. And I had to learn that the hard way. Now money is very important to me, because I ain't got it.

- James Caan

I've never been difficult to anybody or with anybody on a picture. Especially when you're in that nice status of hierarchy of actors and actresses who get to approve directors. Because once you make that choice, it's my belief that the director's boss.

- James Caan

It's always the guys who have absolutely nothing to give that start screaming and yelling about their makeup and trailers. It's a diversion so you don't pay attention to them, because they stink!

- James Caan

My acting technique is to look up at God just before the camera rolls and say, 'Give me a break.'

- James Caan

I really believe that you grow up a certain way in New York. There's a New York morality, a sense of loyalty. You know how to win and lose. There's a thousand kids outside, you know who to push and who not to push. There's a sixth sense you develop just because it's New York.

- James Caan

I went to a shrink once, but I caught him going to a fortune-teller so I quit.

- James Caan

I never rode a bull - I'm not that stupid.

- James Caan

People wonder why first-time directors can make a brilliant picture, then suck on the second one. It's because they're a little terrified the first time. So they listen to all the experts around them.

- James Caan

To get over my divorce, I got a prescription to live at the Playboy Mansion for a while.

- James Caan

The most talented people that I've met in this business are always the nicest.

- James Caan

I won't mention names, but in my career, the most talented people invariably are the easiest and nicest to get along with.

- James Caan

It is that, but really, it's about how we don't recognise the little things in life, or appreciate the little things in life like belonging. A sense of belonging is a big thing today.

- James Caan

I have nothing against these big CGI movies, but there are not enough of the other ones - the ones with stories about character that have a beginning, a middle and an end. I said that to a couple of studio heads and they said, 'That's novel.'

- James Caan

I play a guy who believes he's a king. He's the most common man in the world; in fact his family, like his suits, are just make-up. It's about dysfunctional people and dysfunctional relationships.

- James Caan

I loved 'Funny Lady' for whatever reason. People say they didn't know I could sing and dance. Well, nobody ever asks me - it's always, 'Punch this guy.'

- James Caan

My least favorite phrase in the English language is 'I don't care.'

- James Caan

What's the difference between sex and love? I have four wives and five kids. I apparently don't know the difference.

- James Caan

I always thought of myself as some sort of athlete until I started playing golf a couple years ago.

- James Caan

I know what winning and losing is when you gamble.

- James Caan

Some guys say beauty is only skin deep. But when you walk into a party, you don't see somebody's brain. The initial contact has to be the sniffing.

- James Caan

I'm sort of a Walter Mitty. I got fewer brain cells than most people, so when I got friendly with cowboys, I started rodeoing. When I was calf-roping, there was something about the dirt that made me feel clean.

- James Caan

I was very fortunate in the '70s to work with the best actors, the best directors, the best cinematographers.

- James Caan

I am no longer willing to take parts in films and/or television shows which detract from the 50 years I have spent building my reputation.

- James Caan

What I do quite honestly and seriously and not in any way being humble is not as important as what the garbage collector does. People make actors important.

- James Caan

It's a very charming movie about the mob - a real stretch for me.

- James Caan

I lost my passion for work. No, that's a negative statement. I just had a bigger passion for something else, for my son, and growing up with him.

- James Caan

Sure, I want to be the best actor in the world. But my life is my family, my son, my friends. I don't know how anyone can find fault with that.

- James Caan

People say, 'Gee, you do a lot of mafia movies.' I think I've done two, out of 60.

- James Caan

I've been lucky. The critics never went out of their way to single me out for doing bad work.

- James Caan

You're the only one who's closing your eyes at night. There's no one else who can do it for you.

- James Caan

There's nothing more boring than actors talking about acting.

- James Caan

I rodeo-ed for nine years. That's my other life.

- James Caan

It's always more interesting to play the villain.

- James Caan

You have to be very careful when you let someone win.

- James Caan