The Little Italy native claimed that when he was casting for the 1999 soccer drama Any Given Sunday, he received a call from Caan’s agency. Russo, 78, told the Post of the Al Pacino-led film what the agent had said: “He said, ‘You know, Jimmy would be great in this movie. He is a big fan of sports.” To which Russo replied, “I said, ‘Do you think I would hire James Caan? I wouldn’t give Jimmy Caan a part in anything.’ He was so rude to me.” Russo claims that from the first rehearsal of “Godfather” at Patsy’s restaurant on West 119th Street, Caan, who played Sonny Corleone, his character’s brother-in-law, was not friendly with him.
