James Franco is a multi-talented personality who gained worldwide recognition thanks to his fantastic acting talent. A son of author Betsy and businessman Douglas, he hails from Palo Alto. His brothers Tom and Dave also work in the entertainment industry.
Franco made an acting debut in 1997 in an episode of Pacific Blue television series and later played in Freaks and Geeks. He made a breakthrough in 2001 thanks to starring in the TV film James Dean and earning a Golden Globe along with nominations for Emmy and SAG Awards for it. Among the performer’s other credits are General Hospital, Hollywood Heights, Angie Tribeca, 11.22.63 and The Deuce series.
James began his movie career in 1999 with Never Been Kissed and reached critical acclaim in 2011 for his role in 127 Hours that made him an Oscar nominee. His other famous movies include Spider-Man, Sonny, Annapolis, Pineapple Express, Eat Pray Love, The Broken Tower, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Letter, The Interview, Yosemite, Why Him?, The Disaster Artist and Zeroville.
Besides, James Franco has worked behind the camera on dozens of projects. For instance, he wrote and directed The Ape, As I Lay Dying, Child of God and Sal as well as produced I Am Michael, Goat, King Cobra and The Mad Whale films.
But Franco has many other talents. For instance, he is a skilled painter and an author of Palo Alto book that served as a basis for the eponymous film. Additionally, he is a music artist.
James was romantically linked to Marla Sokoloff in 1999-2004, Ahna O’Reilly in 2006-2011 and reportedly had brief affairs with some other famed women. He is currently in a relationship with Isabel Pakzad.
A curious fact: James always prepares for his roles very thoroughly. Though he hated smoking, he smoked two packs of cigarettes a day to prepare for James Dean. And for the part in Annapolis, he trained in boxing for 8 months.
