Caan was born on March 26, 1940, in the Bronx, New York, the son of Sophie (née Falkenstein) and Arthur Caan, Jewish immigrants from Germany [REF].
While studying at Hofstra University, however, he became intrigued by acting and was interviewed for, accepted to, and graduated from, New York City's Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, where he studied for five years; one of his instructors was Sanford Meisner [REF].