Sonny Corleone's kid tried rap, indie film, and photography before discovering his actual calling: showing up on CBS every week.
At a glance
- Known for
- Danny "Danno" Williams on Hawaii Five-0, Turk Malloy in the Ocean's trilogy
- Before fame
- Half of The Whooliganz, a hip-hop duo with future super-producer The Alchemist
- Off-screen
- Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt who spent 15 years earning the rank
Rise to Fame
He and Alan Maman formed The Whooliganz in the early '90s, got signed to Tommy Boy/Warner Bros, and got dropped after their first single stiffed. Maman became The Alchemist, one of hip-hop's most respected producers. He became a roadie for Cypress Hill.
Acting wasn't Plan B so much as Plan C. He enrolled at Playhouse West, booked Varsity Blues in 1999, then crammed four studio films into 2000, including Boiler Room and Gone in 60 Seconds. The real break came when Soderbergh cast him as Turk Malloy in Ocean's Eleven. It wasn't a big part, but it put him in rooms with Clooney, Pitt, and Damon for three films. That proximity matters more than screen time in Hollywood.
In the Spotlight
Network procedurals are where he lives now, and he's made peace with it. Hawaii Five-0 ran ten seasons on CBS, earning him a Golden Globe nomination and reportedly $200,000 per episode. He negotiated a contract that let him skip episodes to fly home to LA for his family, appearing in 208 of the show's 240 episodes. When he and co-star Alex O'Loughlin both wanted out, CBS ended the series rather than recast.
CBS signed him for NCIS: New York alongside LL Cool J. The Adventures of Cliff Booth, Tarantino-written and Fincher-directed for Netflix, is the prestige piece. The procedural money keeps the lights on. The prestige work keeps the ego fed.
Side Notes
Growing up as James Caan's son meant not knowing your father was famous. James took a hiatus from Hollywood to coach his kid's little league teams, and Scott has said he didn't realize his dad was an actor until he was fifteen. He's called it "dysfunctional" but also described James as his best friend by the time Hawaii Five-0 started.
After James died in 2022, Scott became sole executor of the estate, which came with a surprise: an IRS tax court case over an improper IRA rollover that cost the estate close to $1 million. Outside the procedurals, he writes and directs his own films, publishes photography books, and holds a BJJ black belt. The man collects hobbies the way some actors collect producer credits.