James Caan's Advice To Miles Teller Is Absolutely Gut-Wrenching Now

On July 7, Hollywood was rocked by the news of the tragic death of famed "The Godfather" actor James Caan, whose passing at 82 was announced by his family on his official Twitter account. "It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Jimmy on the evening of July 6," the tweet stated. "The family appreciates the outpouring of love and heartfelt condolences and asks that you continue to respect their privacy during this difficult time. End of tweet." 

Fellow thespians, colleagues, and fans of the "Mickey Blue Eyes" star have flooded social media with tributes. Everyone from Adam Sandler, Rob Reiner, Gary Sinise, Jennifer Tilley, and Zooey Deschanel praised the "Misery" star for his kindness, his dedication to his craft, and his joie de vivre, per People. Even Barbra Streisand tweeted out a throwback photo of them from what appears to be the 1970s, writing, "I'm so sorry to hear about Jimmy. He was so talented."

Now, we are learning just how kind this stalwart of old Hollywood was to up-and-coming actors in the business by way of a DM he sent to none other than "Top Gun: Maverick" star Miles Teller.

"Whiplash" star Miles Teller is sharing an incredibly private and moving message that the late, great James Caan sent him on Twitter a couple years ago in support of his career. Teller shared a screenshot of a DM Caan sent him in 2020 that read, "Hey buddy, just wanted to say great job with everything. I enjoy your work. Never loose [sic] the passion and continue to be authentic. Good luck."

Teller captioned the pic, "I will cherish this message for the rest of my days." The "Divergent" star received plenty of praise for his tribute to Caan, and even liked a tweet from fellow thespian Rick Otto, who mirrored Caan's style of tweeting with the response, "End of tweet!" It's not entirely clear from Caan's DM which project of Teller's compelled him to reach out, but Teller recently starred in the Paramount+ show, "The Offer," a miniseries tracking the making of "The Godfather," in which Caan famously starred. Teller played "The Godfather" producer Albert S. Ruddy.

Teller's revelation comes on the heels of renewed interest in a tweet Caan posted in tribute to Ray Liotta, who passed in May. "Not Ray," the "For The Boys" star lamented on May 26. This tweet has now gone viral, with some pointing out how the two stars are now in heaven creating the best mob movie together. We'd like to think that's exactly what they're doing. End of tweet.