Interview

Author/s: Jamie Painter
Issue: April, 2000

Not long ago Scott Caan was branded a real-life bad boy, much like his actor father, James, was in his youth. The younger Caan's misbehavior culminated in his arrest last year after a bar brawl in Los Angeles. He now says he's changed his wicked ways. "I grew up with a lot of anger in me and I've let it out," says Caan. "I don't drink. I don't go out and party. I like to stay home and work."

And work he has. The 23-year-old actor appears in three films this spring: James Toback's Black and White, about white teenagers obsessed with hip-hop culture; Gone in 60 Seconds, a car-heist flick with Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie; and Ready to Rumble, in which he and David Arquette play wrestling fans. Most recently Caan, who has also found release as a writer (he sold one script to producer Jerry Bruckheimer), could be seen as a hot-tempered swindler in Boiler Room. In last year's Varsity Blues, he donned nothing but a cowboy hat for one scene. "I want to create a little chaos and make people's heads turn," says Caan.

Apparently the bad boy isn't entirely gone. "I've got a little fight in me, but I think that's good," says Caan. If you don't have any fight in you, you might as well be dead.

© 2000 Brant Publications, Inc.
© 2000 Gale Group