James Franco, Hollywood actor , director and screenwriter, producer, writer and artist, was born on April 19, 1978 in the California city of Palo Alto. James's father, Doug Franco, was a native of Portugal, and his mother, Betsy Verne, a Jewish woman, was born in Sweden. From childhood, James dreamed of becoming an actor, his catchy appearance and natural artistry subsequently helped the young man to realize this dream. When Franco was 18 years old, he left Palo Alto for Los Angeles and entered the University of California. However, he did not study for long, a year later left the university and began to master the profession of actor at the Robert Carnegie Educational Theater Playhouse West. In addition to theatrical art, James was interested in fine art, in particular painting. The Carnegie Theater had an art studio, and thus the future actor James Franco combined theatrical rehearsals with drawing lessons. He was not embarrassed that the studio was focused on painting scenery, he studied drawing technique.
First role
Passion for the theater smoothly turned into a passionate desire to play some role in the movie. Handsome James Franco, whose height was 180 cm, and his appearance was fully consistent with Hollywood standards, went to all screenings and auditions, he was praised and predicted a great future, but offered only episodic roles. Soon material difficulties began, and James got a job at McDonalds. After some time, the handsome, artistic guy was noticed by the producer of the kitchenware advertising agency, and Franco got his first role in the commercial.
Start a movie career
In 1999, James Franco, whose filmography at that time did not contain a single picture, took part in the television series "Freaks and nuts." After that, the young actor starred in several films about youth. The film "Unkissed", where he played a minor role, gave him the opportunity to talk with star actress Drew Barrymore, who played the main role in the film - journalist Josie Geller. The comedy film "At Any Cost", in which Franco also played a small role, was not wasted for him - on the set he met actress Marla Sokoloff, his girlfriend of that time. The girl had no influence on the fate of the actor, and James Franco, whose personal life remained as cloudless as it was before meeting Marla, continued to act in film, not thinking about getting married. There were more and more film projects with James, he did not have time to meet with the girls. Every free minute he gave to his hobby - painting. Later, James Franco, whose filmography was quickly replenished, played a supporting role in the series The X-Files, Composer of Psychological Portraits and Serve and Protect.
Golden Globe Award
In 2001, Franco played the role of James Dean, a Hollywood actor. I had to compete for this role, several hundred applicants claimed it, since an extended casting was held. James Franco was ahead of everyone and was appointed the lead actor, who brought the actor the first Golden Globe Award and two nominations in the category "Best Actor of the Series" for Emmy and for the prize "Award of the Guild of Actors". Franco then starred in the movie "Sonny," the directorial debut of Hollywood star Nicolas Cage. The plot of the picture was that Sonny, being burned, was supposed to provide sexual services to elderly ladies, clients of a male brothel owned by his mother. And finally, the film "The Last Affair of Lamarca", a psychological drama with a detective bias, in which James played with Robert de Niro, who played the main role of the police officer Vincent Lamarck.
Spider-Man and other films
James Franco, whose filmography at that time contained only a few films with secondary roles, became popular in 2002, playing Harry Osbourne in the spider-man film directed by Sam Raimi. Two years later, the movie "Spider-Man-2" was released, in which Franco again played the role of Osborne, but in a different capacity. A year later, in 2005, James took part in the production of the film "The Great Raid" about the events of World War II. He played the commander of a group of rangers, thanks to which the prisoners of war of the Kabanatown camp were saved. Then followed three films with Franco starring: "Tristan and Isolde" directed by Kevin Reynolds, "Squadron Lafayette" directed by Tony Bill and "Duel" Justin Lee. In the same 2006, James played supporting roles in the films "Wicker Man" and "Dead Girl". Films with James Franco became increasingly popular.
Eight films in 2007
The year 2007 brought James Franco as many as seven films, among which was the picture Spider-Man 3, where he again played Harry Osborne. The remaining six films - Camilla's Honeymoon , American Crime, In the Valley of Al, Finishing the Game, A Little Pregnant, and Prankster Max - did not bring the actor creative satisfaction, all roles were secondary. In 2008, James Franco, whose filmography was becoming more informative, starred in the comedy film "Pineapple Express: Sitting, Smoking," and on the set he met Seth Rogen, his partner in the series Freaks and Nuts. Seth played the main role in the Pineapple Express Dale Denton. Franco himself played the drug dealer Sol.
James and his brothers
James's next film was Nights at Rodant, where he played Mark Flanner, the son of the main character Paul Flanner (Richard Gere). The role is small, in fact, episodic. And the last acting work of Franco in 2008 was the biographical film "Harvey Milk", directed by Gus Van Saint, in which James played Scott Smith, a friend of the protagonist. The film was attended by James Franco's younger brother , Dave, who is also a successful Hollywood actor, writes scripts and produces individual projects. Brothers rarely intersect on the set, but maintain close friendships. James's second brother, Tom or Thomas, has nothing to do with cinema; he is a professional artist.
Actor or scientist
Along with his work in Hollywood, James Franco, whose biography could be an example of life activity, visited the Department of Philology of the University of California, where he once studied. In 2008, a popular actor received a bachelor's degree in English. In his final dissertation, which was similar in status to a thesis in a Russian university, James presented to the academic council all the knowledge gained at the faculty under the patronage of the famous writer Mona Simpson. Further studies required moving to New York, where Franco was to participate in the graduate program at Columbia University. The move took place, and James Franco continued on his way to obtaining a degree in philology. In parallel, he began to attend the Tish School of the Arts at the University of New York, where he had the opportunity to study the theory of film production. During this period of his pseudo-scientific life, James did not leave painting, however, films with James Franco, which became more and more popular among the general public, obliged him to first improve the acting profession.
Oscar host
In early 2009, James Franco tried himself as a director by filming Stephen's Feast, a short film about homosexual Stephen's fantasies. The picture, lasting only 4 minutes, received the Teddy Prize at the Berlin Film Festival, and James Franco, whose personal life after the film became an object of close attention, immediately dispelled all doubts about his sexual orientation. And the following year, 2010, the actor was announced as the host of the Oscars-2011 ceremony together with Anne Hathaway. The motivation for such a decision was voiced: "Oscar Ann Hathaway and James Marco, appointed by the producer enclave, are representatives of the new generation of Hollywood, comprehensively developed, energetic and talented."
Star on the Walk of Fame
The most significant recent events in the life of James Franco include his demonstrations in the press, in which he sharply condemned the ban on showing the film "I Want Your Love" directed by Travis Matthew, who openly promotes homosexuality, although he himself had nothing to do with the film. Another 2013 event was the opening of the James Franco Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Currently, the filmography of the popular actor includes about 50 paintings of a very different genre.