James Edward Franco born April 19, is an American actor and filmmaker. His first prominent television role was Daniel Desario on the short-lived ensemble comedy-drama Freaks and Geeks β , which developed a cult following. Franco had a recurring role on the daytime soap opera General Hospital β and starred in the limited series In , a seventeen-year-old girl posted several screenshots of alleged messages between her and Franco on Instagram.
His father was of Portuguese and Swedish ancestry, while his mother was from a family of Russian Jews. Franco's family upbringing was "academic, liberal, and largely secular". Facing the possibility of juvenile hall , he was given a second chance by the judge. I was uncomfortable in my own skin. I was shy. I changed my ways just in time to get good grades. Although the idea of becoming a marine zoologist interested him, Franco had always secretly wanted to become an actor but feared being rejected.
He was a vegetarian for the year prior to working there. After 15 months of training, Franco began auditioning in Los Angeles. His first paid role was a television commercial for Pizza Hut , featuring a dancing Elvis Presley. Later, the show became a cult hit among audiences.
So I was improvising a little bit back then, but not in a productive way. Other research included reading books on Dean and studying his movies. That was my whole thinking. James Dean. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "Franco could have walked through the role and done a passable Dean, but instead gets under the skin of this insecure, rootless young man. He next starred in Sonny , a release in which he was directed by Nicolas Cage , whose involvement had attracted Franco to the film.
To prepare for his role, he met with sex workers or people who had previously been prostitutes. Franco was cast as a homeless drug addict in the drama City by the Sea after co-star Robert De Niro saw a snippet of his work in James Dean.
