Quotes from James Caan

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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'.

Obstacles are only opportunities to succeed or fail; how we handle them determines what will happen.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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?

Success is the result of clear goal, unshakable confidence, proper planning, enthusiastic ACTION and consistent persistence.

Someone's always saying, "It's not whether you win or lose," but if you feel that way, you're as good as dead.

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