Scott Caan gets back to indie filmmaking and family roots with ‘One Day as a Lion’

After years of developing and starring in TV projects, like the successful reboot of Hawaii Five-O on CBS and his just-renewed Alert: Missing Persons Unit for Fox, Scott Caan got back behind the keyboard to write the new crime drama One Day as a Lion.

The movie is now streaming on demand.

Caan stars as Jackie Powers, an ex boxer desperate to keep his teen son out of prison. In need of money for an attorney, he reluctantly takes a job for a crime boss (Frank Grillo): killing an old cowboy who owes him money (Oscar winner J.K. Simmons). But Jackie’s no killer, and he bungles the job, forcing him to go on the run.

“This movie is just sort of a combination of all the goofy people that I grew up with,” Caan tells ABC Audio. “I had a weird childhood: half of my family were a bunch of cowboys. The other half of my family were like, you know, East Coast wise-guy type of people.” He also drew inspiration from his past, noting he spent time in juvenile hall when he was 15.

Caan says the movie reignited a passion for the independent movies from the ’90s that inspired him to pursue acting.

Marvel movie veteran Grillo says Scott’s movie reminded him of Thief, starring Scott’s dad, the late James Caan.

There was another bonus for Grillo, who was born and raised in The Bronx, New York. “I never get to play, like, gangster dudes. And so for me to jump in and get to be like a goombah from The Bronx, you know — that’s like every guy I knew who’s probably dead or in jail. It was great, man. It was great fun.”

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