James Caan Quotes (33 Quotes)

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

I don't think silicone makes a girl good or bad.

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

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

I had my first puff on a joint when I was twenty-four and a half, and I was petrified. I thought I was gonna see elephants.

It was surprising for a picture called Elf. It was actually edgy. I think the nice thing about the film is that my mother laughed, my kids laughed, my friends laughed, and usually when they call something a family movie, I think, uh-oh I'll have to suffer through it.

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

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?

Will is extremely funny. The tights, though, they were a little vulgar. I just looked at the tights and there's nothing funny about them

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. And one of these days, maybe we'll raise a perfect Caan.

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

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.

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

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 had great, great times as a Little League coach. People were talking about me quitting acting, and they would say, What about your creative juices Coaching is creative, because you could take a kid who thought he wasn't any good and, within four minutes, change his mind. And I didn't have to wait six months for them to put music to it.

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.

I didn't turn the script down. It was the title. It didn't sound... right. From The Godfather to Elf My agents told me We're sending you a script called Elf, and I said No you're not

I'll see a beautiful girl walking up to me and I'll think, Oh, my God, I can't believe my good luck. But then she'll say, Where's your son or My mother loves you.

When I played three-on-three with twenty-year-olds when I was fifty, I didn't care if the guy was six eight - I threw the elbow.

Joseph Russo is a dear friend of mine and I cannot express enough how pleased I am that your office has taken interest and is in pursuit of correcting this problem.

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

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.

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

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

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.