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James Franco Biography
James Franco is an American actor, filmmaker, and college instructor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in 127 Hours (2010). Franco is best known for his roles in live-action films, such as Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy (2002–2007); Milk (2008); Pineapple Express (2008); Eat, Pray, Love (2010); Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011); Spring Breakers (2012); Oz the Great and Powerful (2013); This Is the End (2013); and The Disaster Artist (2017), for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor.

He is also known for his collaborations with fellow actor Seth Rogen, having appeared in eight films and one television series with him. He is also known for his appearance on television; his first prominent acting role was the character Daniel Desario on the short-lived ensemble comedy-drama Freaks and Geeks (1999–2000), which developed a cult following. He portrayed the title character in the television biographical film James Dean (2001), for which he won a Golden Globe Award.
Franco had a recurring role on the daytime soap opera General Hospital (2009–2012) and starred in the limited series 11.22.63 (2016). He currently stars in the David Simon-created HBO drama The Deuce (2017–present).
James volunteers for the Art of Elysium charity, and has taught film classes at New York University, the University of Southern California, UCLA, Studio 4, Palo Alto High School, and Playhouse West.
James Franco Age | How Old Is James Franco
James was born on April 19, 1978 in Palo Alto, California. He is 41 years old as of 2019.
James Franco photos
James Franco Height | How Tall Is James Franco
James stands at a height of 1.8 m.
James Franco Family | James Franco Parents |James Franco Siblings | James Franco Dad
James was born in Palo Alto, California. He is the daughter to Betsy Lou (née Verne), who is a writer and occasional actress, and Douglas Eugene “Doug” Franco who ran a Silicon Valley business. His mother is aJewish, from a family of Russian Jewish descent while his father was of Portuguese (from Madeira) and Swedish ancestry.
Franco’s maternal grandfather, Daniel, changed his surname from “Verovitz” to “Verne” some time after 1940. His paternal grandmother, Marjorie (née Peterson), is a published author of young adult books. His maternal grandmother, Mitzie (née Levine), owned the prominent Verne Art Gallery in Cleveland, Ohio, and was an active member in the National Council of Jewish Women.
His family upbringing was “academic, liberal, and largely secular”. Together with his brothers actors Tom and Dave they grew up in California.
James Franco Education | James Franco High School | James Franco University | James Franco Young
Franco interned at Lockheed Martin. His father often encouraged him to get good grades and did well on his SATs. In 1996 he graduated from Palo Alto High School , where he acted in plays. This led to him attending CSSSA in 1998 for theater studies.
Though Franco’s idea of becoming a marine zoologist interested him, he had always secretly wanted to become an actor but feared being rejected. He registered at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as an English major but dropped out after his first year (against his parents’ wishes) to pursue a career as an actor, since he would have had to wait two years to audition for their acting program.
Franco instead chose to take acting lessons with Robert Carnegie at the Playhouse West. Around this time, he took up a late-night job at McDonald’s to support himself because his parents refused to do so. He was a vegetarian for the year prior to working there. While working at the establishment, he would practice accents on customers, an experience he remembered nostalgically in a 2015 Washington Post editorial titled “McDonald’s was there for me when no one else was”.
James Franco Wife | Is James Franco Married
James has never been married.
James Franco Dating
Franco after meeting on the set of Whatever It Takes in 1999 with co-star Marla Sokoloff he dated her for five years. Later he was in a relationship with actress Ahna O’Reilly until 2011. James confirmed their split in an interview for Playboy magazine’s August 2011 issue, saying that his interest in education got between them.
James Franco Gay
Franco’s sexuality has been a subject of discussion in media sources, relentlessly questioning if he himself is gay. This is due to his support for the LGBT community, and his portrayal of gay characters in his projects . Franco’s response to questions regarding his sexuality, he insists he finds plenty more dimensions to the characters than their bedroom proclivities. “Or, you know what,” he quipped, “maybe I’m just gay.”
In a March 2015 interview with Four Two Nine magazine, Franco again opened up about his sexuality, commenting that it is not who you have sex with that defines your sexuality, but instead how you act. “In the twenties and thirties, they used to define homosexuality by how you acted and not by whom you slept with. Sailors would fuck guys all the time, but as long as they behaved in masculine ways, they weren’t considered gay.” He added, “Well, I like to think that I’m gay in my art and straight in my life.”
James Franco Tv Show
Title |
Year |
Role |
Pacific Blue
|
1997
|
Brian
|
To Serve and Protect
|
1998
|
Kristin Carter
|
Profiler
|
1999
|
Stevie
|
Freaks and Geeks
|
1999–2000
|
Daniel Desario
|
At Any Cost
|
2000
|
Mike Roberts
|
James Dean
|
2001
|
James Dean
|
The X-Files
|
2001
|
Officer No. 2
|
General Hospital: Night Shift
|
2007–2008
|
Franco
|
General Hospital
|
2009–2012
|
Franco
|
Saturday Night Live
|
2008
|
Himself (host)
|
81st Academy Awards
|
2009
|
Saul Silver
|
Saturday Night Live
|
2009
|
Himself (host)
|
30 Rock
|
2010
|
Himself
|
83rd Academy Awards
|
2011
|
Himself (co–host)
|
FCU: Fact Checkers Unit
|
2012
|
James
|
Hollywood Heights
|
2012
|
Osborne “Oz” Silver
|
The Mindy Project
|
2013
|
Dr. Paul Leotard
|
Comedy Central Roast of James Franco
|
2013
|
Roastee
|
Saturday Night Live
|
2014
|
Himself (host)
|
Naked and Afraid
|
2014
|
Himself
|
Deadbeat
|
2015
|
Johnny Penis
|
Angie Tribeca
|
2016
|
Sgt. Eddie Pepper
|
11.22.63
|
2016
|
Jake Epping
|
Mother, May I Sleep with Danger?
|
2016
|
Play Director
|
High School Lover
|
2017
|
Rick Winters
|
The Deuce
|
2017–present
|
Vincent Martino / Frankie Martino
|
Saturday Night Live
|
2017
|
Himself (host)
|
James Franco Film | James Franco Series
Film |
Year |
|
Role |
||
Never Been Kissed | 1999 | Jason Way |
Whatever It Takes | 2000 | Chris Campbell |
If Tomorrow Comes | Devin | |
Mean People Suck | 2001 | Casey Mitchell |
Spider-Man | 2002 | Harry Osborn |
Deuces Wild | Tino Verona | |
Sonny | Sonny Phillips | |
City by the Sea | Joey LaMarca | |
The Company | 2003 | Josh Williams |
Spider-Man 2 | 2004 | Harry Osborn |
The Ape | 2005 | Harry Walker |
The Great Raid | Cpt. Robert Prince | |
Fool’s Gold | Brent | |
Tristan & Isolde | 2006 | Prince Tristan |
Annapolis | Jake Huard | |
The Wicker Man | Bar Guy #1 | |
Flyboys | Blaine Rawlings | |
The Dead Girl | Derek | |
The Holiday | Himself | |
An American Crime | 2007 | Andy Gordon |
Interview | — | |
Finishing the Game | Rob Force | |
Spider-Man 3 | Harry Osborn / New Goblin | |
Knocked Up | Himself | |
Good Time Max | Max | |
In the Valley of Elah | Sergeant Dan Carnelli | |
Camille | 2008 | Silas Parker |
Pineapple Express | Saul Silver | |
Nights in Rodanthe | Dr. Mark Flanner | |
Milk | Scott Smith | |
The Feast of Stephen | 2009 | – |
Howl | 2010 | Allen Ginsberg |
Date Night | Tom “Taste” Felton | |
Shadows and Lies | William Vincent | |
Eat Pray Love | David Piccolo | |
127 Hours | Aron Ralston | |
Love & Distrust | Travis | |
The Green Hornet | 2011 | Danny “Crystal” Clear |
Your Highness | Prince Fabeous | |
The Broken Tower | Hart Crane | |
Rise of the Planet of the Apes | Will Rodman | |
Sal | Milton Katselas | |
My Own Private River | 2012 | — |
About Cherry | Francis | |
Maladies | James | |
The Iceman | Marty Freeman | |
Spring Breakers | Alien | |
The Letter | Tyrone | |
The Color of Time (aka Tar) | C. K. Williams | |
Interior. Leather Bar. | 2013 | Himself |
Lovelace | Hugh Hefner | |
Oz the Great and Powerful | Oscar Diggs | |
As I Lay Dying | Darl Bundren | |
This Is the End | Himself | |
Palo Alto | Mr. B | |
Child of God | Jerry | |
Third Person | Richard “Rick” Weiss | |
Homefront | Morgan “Gator” Bodine | |
Kink | — | |
Veronica Mars | 2014 | Himself |
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes | Will Rodman | |
Good People | Tom Wright | |
The Sound and the Fury | Benjy Compson | |
The Interview | Dave Skylark | |
Don Quixote: The Ingenious Gentleman of La Mancha | 2015 | Pasamonte |
True Story | Christian Longo | |
Yosemite | Phil | |
I Am Michael | Michael Glatze | |
Queen of the Desert | Henry Cadogan | |
Every Thing Will Be Fine | Tomas Eldan | |
Wild Horses | Ben Briggs | |
The Heyday of the Insensitive Bastards | Conrad | |
The Adderall Diaries | Stephen Elliott | |
The Little Prince | The Fox | |
Memoria | Mr. Wyckoff | |
The Night Before | Himself | |
Goat | 2016 | Mitch |
Sausage Party | The Druggie | |
King Cobra | Joseph “Joe” Kerekes | |
Burn Country | Lindsay | |
The Caged Pillows | David Del Rosario | |
In Dubious Battle | Mac McLeod | |
Why Him? | Laird Mayhew | |
The Labyrinth | 2017 | Narrator |
The Institute | Dr. Cairn | |
Actors Anonymous | Jake Lamont | |
The Show | Male Host | |
The Disaster Artist | Tommy Wiseau | |
Alien: Covenant – Prologue: Last Supper | Jacob Branson | |
Alien: Covenant | ||
Don’t Come Back from the Moon | Roman Smalley | |
The Vault | Ed Maas | |
The Mad Whale | ||
Future World | 2018 | The Warlord |
Kin | Taylor Balik | |
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs | Cowboy | |
Arctic Justice: Thunder Squad | 2019 | Lemmy |
Kill the Czar | TBA | |
The Long Home | Dallas Hardin | |
The Pretenders | Maxwell | |
Bukowski | — | |
Zeroville | Vikar |
Best James Franco Movies
James Franco New Movie
James Franco Paintings | James Franco Art
James Franco has been making art for decades. Franco harnesses his personas from the various worlds he’s involved in as material to create layered, multifaceted work. Franco primarily pursues painting as his main medium, but also explores and integrates video, performance, and photography into his practice.
James Franco Spiderman
Franco became prominent in the 2002 superhero film Spider-Man, when he played Harry Osborn, the son of the villainous Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) and best friend of Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire). Franco originally was considered for the lead role of Spider-Man/Peter Parker in the film, though the lead went to Maguire. Todd McCarthy of Variety noted that there are “good moments” between Maguire and Franco in the film. Spider-Man was a commercial and critical success. The movie earned $114 million during its opening weekend in North America and went on to earn $822 million worldwide.
The first Spider-Man film success led Franco to repeat the role in the 2004 sequel, Spider-Man 2. It was well received by critics, and it proved to be a big financial success, setting a new opening weekend box office record for North America. It became the second highest-grossing film in 2004 with revenue of $783 million worldwide.
James again played Harry Osborn in Spider-Man 3 (2007). Different from the previous two films’ positive reviews, Spider-Man 3 was met with a mixed reception by critics. However, with a total worldwide gross of $891 million, it stands as the most successful film in the series, and Franco’s highest-grossing film to date.
James Franco James Dean
James Dean is a biographical television film based on the life of the American actor James Dean. James plays the title role under the direction of Mark Rydell, who chronicles Dean’s rise from a struggling actor to an A-list movie star in 1950s Hollywood. Its supporting roles included director Rydell, Michael Moriarty, Valentina Cervi, Enrico Colantoni, and Amy Rydell.
James Franco Book
- Straight James / Gay James
- Directing Herbert White: Poems
- Actors Anonymous: A Novel
- A California Childhood
- Palo Alto by James Franco (2011-08-04)
- Strongest of the Litter: (The Hollyridge Press Chapbook Series)
- 113 Crickets: Summer 2012
- A California Childhood by James Franco (2013-06-18)
- Actors Anonymous by James Franco (2013-10-15)
- Manifest der Anonymen Schauspieler: Roman (German Edition)
James Franco Roast
The Comedy Central Roasts are a series of celebrity roast specials that air on the American television channel Comedy Central. The first official Comedy Central Roast premiered on August 10, 2003.
On average one to two roasts air every year. There are eight to ten people invited who roast each other before finally roasting the title subject of each show. As of 2018, sixteen roasts have aired. Targets of roasts have included actors and comedians.
Since 2010, Comedy Central affiliates outside the United States have occasionally produced their own roasts; eight such roasts have been produced in total.
James Franco Award
- Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
- 2018 · The Disaster Artist- Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best
- 2018 · The Disaster Artist – Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead
- 2011 · 127 Hours – Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Acting Ensemble
- 2009 · Milk – Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
- 2002 · James Dean – Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male
- 2009 · Milk – Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Actor
- 2017 · The Disaster Artist – National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor
- 2014 · Spring Breakers – Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker Award
- 2014 BFCA Critics’ Choice Award for Best Actor in a Picture made for the Television2002 · Teddy Award for Best Short Film
- 2010 · The Feast Of Stephen
Sonny James Franco
Sonny is a crime-drama film starring James Franco, Harry Dean Stanton, Brenda Blethyn, Mena Suvari and Josie Davis. It is based on a screenplay by John Carlen. The film marked the directorial debut of Nicolas Cage, who makes a cameo appearance. It was co-produced by Cage’s production company Saturn Films.
James Franco 127 Hours
127 Hours is biographical survival drama film produced and directed by Danny Boyle. It stars James Franco, Kate Mara and Amber Tamblyn. In the film, canyoneer Aron Ralston gets trapped by a boulder in an isolated slot canyon in Blue John Canyon, southeastern Utah, in April 2003. Ralston must find a way to escape. It is a British and American venture produced by Everest Entertainment, Film4 Productions, HandMade Films and Cloud Eight Films.
James Franco Brother
James has a brother known as David John Franco who was born on June 12, 1985 . He is a film and television actor. Dave started his career with small roles in films such as Superbad (2007) and Charlie St. Cloud (2010).Dave grew up in California with his two older brothers, Tom and James.