They made him an offer which he refused.
Actor Gianni Russo, who played Carlo Rizzi in “The Godfather,” said that once the filming of the classic film was over, he had no contact with James Caan, until the late actor wanted to participate. in one of his films.
When the Little Italy native helped produce the 1999 football drama “Any Given Sunday,” he said he received a call from Caan’s agent while they were casting.
“He said,‘ You know, Jimmy would be great in this movie. He’s a big fan of sports, ”Russo, 78, told The Post of the film directed by Al Pacino, in which he had a supporting role.
“I said,‘ Do you think I would hire James Caan? I wouldn’t give Jimmy Caan a role in anything. He was so rude to me, ”the Upper East Sider explained.
Russo claims that Caan, who played Sonny Corleone, Russo’s character’s brother-in-law, has not been kind to him since the first rehearsal of “Godfather” at Patsy’s restaurant at 119th Street West.
James Caan died on July 6th. Jack Robinson / Hulton Archive / Getty Images Russo called the late actor “rude.” Courtesy of the Everett collection.
“The biggest thorn in his side was, ‘Who is Gianni Russo?’ That guy, he studied with Stella Adler, whatever. He was never kind to me from day one. But I think he was a character because he’s an actor, ”he said.
Russo said he quickly found out he was wrong, because Caan, who grew up in Sunnyside, Queens, really had meat with his co-star.
And it didn’t help that Russo, who was 27 when she was elected, had ties to real-life mobsters like Frank Costello, Joe Colombo and Carlo Gambino.
“Because it’s happening to mob people, like Carmine Persico, and everyone already knows me. I come from Mulberry Street, how do you live on Mulberry Street and you don’t know mob people?” He said.
He said Caan “fell in love with the mobsters,” through his experience on the 1972 set. “Until the day he died, he thought he was a mobster. He thought it was Sonny Corleone,” he said.
Russo also claims that Caan went too far in an infamous “Godfather” fight scene where Sonny beats Carlo to hit his sister.
Although Russo said a double stunt was used, especially when Carlo was thrown over a railing, he was also on the scene and was injured by Caan.
“This is me. He’s biting my hand; he’s hitting my elbow with that bucket of steel trash. He broke my elbow,” he said. “When I crawled up and got up in the air, it broke two of my ribs, which wasn’t in the rehearsal. It was me lying there.”
James Caan knocks out Gianni Russo in a scene from the movie “The Godfather”. Courtesy of the Everett collection. Caan and Russo acted together in the classic films “The Godfather” .CBS via Getty Images
Caan never admitted to hurting his co-star, saying that day he worked with a double acrobatics.
“He discredits me even doing the scene. Unfortunately, we’re talking about a boy who has died, and until the day of his death, that’s his story,” he said. “She was taken to the grave as we would say.”