Volkan Torun

James Edmund Caan, an American actor, became known for his roles in films starting in the 1960s. He is most remembered for his portrayal of Sonny Corleone in the 1972 film *The Godfather*. Born in The Bronx, New York, to German-Jewish immigrant parents, Caan graduated from the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre and made his Broadway debut in *Blood, Sweat and Stanley Poole*. He then appeared in television series such as *The Untouchables*. *Lady in a Cage*, a thriller in which he played a violent man, was one of his early significant roles. In 1967, Caan starred alongside legendary actor John Wayne in *El Dorado*. He gained attention for his role as a mentally disabled football player in Francis Ford Coppola's 1969 film *The Rain People*. A few years later, Coppola cast Caan as Sonny Corleone in *The Godfather*. This role brought Caan widespread recognition and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. From 1973 to 1982, Caan starred in numerous films, taking on diverse roles to escape typecasting as a gangster. He made his sole directorial debut in 1980 with *Hide in Plain Sight*, a story about a father searching for his son who disappeared while in witness protection. While the film received positive reviews, it underperformed at the box office. In 1981, Caan starred in Michael Mann's *Thief*, playing a professional thief in a film considered a film noir classic. He took a break from acting from 1982 to 1987, returning in Francis Ford Coppola's *Gardens of Stone*, a film about the Vietnam War. Between 1988 and 1990, Caan appeared in popular films such as *Alien Nation*, *Dick Tracy*, and *Misery*. In 1992, he starred alongside Nicolas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker in *Honeymoon in Vegas*. Other films include *Eraser* (1996), *Mickey Blue Eyes* (1999), *The Yards* (2000), *City of Ghosts* (2002), *Dogville* (2003), and *Elf* (2003). Caan married four times. His first marriage was to Dee Jay Mattis in 1960; they had a daughter, Tara, in 1964, before divorcing two years later. He had a brief marriage to Sheila Marie Ryan in 1976, resulting in the birth of actor Scott Caan. In 1990, he married Ingrid Hajek, and they had a son, Alexander, in 1991, before divorcing in 1995. He married Linda Stokes that same year; they had two more sons, James Arthur (1995) and Jacob Nicholas (1998), before divorcing in 2009.