Al Pacino, Adam Sandler and More React to James Caan’s Death: ‘What a Loss’

Reactions to the death of beloved actor James Caan poured in from all over Hollywood on Thursday as fellow movie stars and directors who knew him mourned the loss of the man known for his iconic roles in The Godfather, Misery and Elf, among other films.

Caan’s family confirmed his death via Twitter on Thursday morning. The 82-year-old star was also known for Thief,  Rollerball, The Outsider, A Bridge Too Far, and parts in many other films and television shows.

“What a terrible and tragic loss. Jimmy was not just a great actor with total commitment and a venturesome spirit, but he had a vitality in the core of his being that drove everything from his art and friendship to athletics and very good times,” Thief director Michael Mann wrote in a statement on Thursday.

“I loved him and I loved working with him. He reached into the core of his being during difficult personal times to be the rebellious, half wild child, institutionalized outsider Frank, in my first film, Thief. Frank is half Frank, half Jimmy. The character and the man — like his Sonny in The Godfather — were made for each other. Unique. What a loss.”

Caan’s The Godfather co-stars Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, as well as the classic film’s director Francis Ford Coppola, also remembered Caan on Thursday in statements to The Hollywood Reporter.

“Jimmy was my fictional brother and my lifelong friend,” Pacino said. “It’s hard to believe that he won’t be in the world anymore because he was so alive and daring. A great actor, a brilliant director and my dear friend. I’m gonna miss him.”

“I’m very, very sad to hear about Jimmy’s passing,” De Niro added.

Coppola wrote: “Jimmy was someone who stretched through my life longer and closer than any motion picture figure I’ve ever known. From those earlier times working together on The Rain People and throughout all the milestones of my life, his films and the many great roles he played will never be forgotten. He will always be my old friend from Sunnyside, my collaborator and one of the funniest people I’ve ever known.”

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Actress Jennifer Tilly, who appeared with Caan in 2003’s Jericho Mansions, shared a funny anecdote about Cann and Coppola.

“James Caan always had the funniest stories. Once he told me Coppola had the habit of grabbing food off his plate and eating it, so one day he made a sandwich with very hot jalapeños between two pieces of buttered bread, and waited outside Coppola’s airstream,” she wrote on Twitter. “Coppola came roaring out to direct the next scene, grabbed the sandwich off the plate and gobbled it down. Immediately tears started squirting out of his eyes and he started yelling, ‘What is this? What did you do to me?! And Jimmy said meekly, ‘Did I ask you to eat my sandwich? Did I?'”

Adam Sandler also shared fond words about Caan on Thursday.

“James Caan. Loved him very much. Always wanted to be like him. So happy I got to know him. Never ever stopped laughing when I was around that man. His movies were best of the best. We all will miss him terribly. Thinking of his family and sending my love,” Sandler wrote.

Caan’s Misery co-star Kathy Bates also remembered him fondly.

“I can’t believe Jimmy’s gone,” she wrote in a statement to Variety. “Working with him on Misery was one of the most profound experiences of my career. When you watch his performance, his terror, it’s as though he’s watching a snake. Brilliant. So many memories flooding back today. Jimmy saying, ‘Let’s get the most hyper guy in Hollywood and make him stay in bed for 15 weeks.’ We were so excited when we got to shoot in the dining room. He was kind. Hilarious. He would have something insightfully funny to say right now. I’m bereft. Sending all my love to the Caan family.”

So did Misery director Rob Reiner, who replied to Caan’s family’s tweet: “So sorry to hear the news. I loved working with him. And the only Jew I knew who could calf rope with the best of them. Love to the family.”

Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn wrote: “Rest In Peace James Caan. There are so many movies of his I love, The Godfather films of course being at the very top.”

He added, “Thief in particular was a Gunn family classic — I had the poster on my wall in high school.”

The official Twitter account for The Godfather movie shared a photo of Caan as Sonny in the movie in honor of him, writing, “In remembrance of the legendary James Caan. Rest In Peace.”

Last Night in Soho director Edgar Wright also had nice things to say.

“RIP to a genuine megawatt movie star, Mr Jimmy Caan, star of not just The Godfather, but also Thief, Misery, Freebie And The Bean, Slither, Rollerball, Bottle Rocket, Gardens Of Stone, The Way Of The Gun, Honeymoon In Vegas, Elf & many more. Enjoy this deadpan classic. ‘Ta da,'” he tweeted.

See all of these tweets below.

Main Image: James Caan and Michael Mann on the set of Thief in 1981, courtesy of Micheal Mann.