Before talking with Scott Caan, the actor, I had no idea of what to expect. I mean, I’d seen him on the big screen in Novocaine and all of the Ocean’s series, and on TV in Entourage, but these were just characters, not the man himself. How close to the real Scott Caan were the people he portrayed? While I was supposed to be on the phone to talk about “Vanity,” his new book of photography and concurrent show at Martha Otero Gallery in Los Angeles, I was just as curious about finding out who he actually was. Who I discovered was a guy bursting with creativity and a clear outlook on life, whose talents stretched far beyond acting into music, writing, and of course, photography. He’d be just as comfortable on an Action Bronson track as he would be in a gallery, showing off the images he captured in a frame. Which is why we had this conversation in the first place.

The most obvious way to start this interview is by asking about how you got into photography?

On the first film I directed (Dallas 362) my cinematographer was a guy by the name of Philip Parmet. When I began the film I had the idea that I was going to focus on the acting, and while I knew what I wanted the movie to look like and understood what I felt was an interesting frame, I never really got it the way I did Until after I had spent six months with Phil Parmet. I basically glued myself to his hip while we were making the movie and he really inspired me to want to take photographs and understand the craft. He’s a fantastic photographer, and like I said, he inspired me to start shooting.

What was the first camera that you shot with?

A Nikon FE.

And you got this from your father as a gift?

Yeah, it was a camera that he had owned for a long time and then he gave it to me. He saw that I was getting into photography and film. It was a good gift.

Do you ever use a camera phone at all? Are you on Instagram?

Nope.

None of that?

Nope.

I actually looked on Instagram for you and instead found a pretty funny feed that was dedicated to your ass. So… the title of your book that’s coming out is Vanity.

Yeah. (More at source)