A biography for James Caanhasn’t been written yet.
“My least favorite phrase in the English language is 'I don't care.'”
“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.”
“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.”
“It's hard to tell writers, especially in movies, that words are secondary. Behavior is important.”
“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.”
“I'm here instead of having shoulder surgery. But I'm not sure which is more painful.”
“I know what winning and losing is when you gamble.”
“It's a very charming movie about the mob - a real stretch for me.”
“I never rode a bull - I'm not that stupid.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“The most talented people are always the nicest.”
“Saving a letter from an old friend doesn't exist anymore. Everything is texted or emailed.”
“The most talented people that I've met in this business are always the nicest.”
“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.”
“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.'”