Biography

James Franco Biography

My first memory of James Franco is one of teen angst, TV style, in the short lived but excellent 1999 show Freaks and Geeks. A launching pad for Linda Cardellini, Seth Rogan and Jason Segal, the show proved to be gold for Franco as well.

Born in California in 1978, Franco segued quickly from television to the big screen, first in the romantic comedy Whatever It Takes, returning to the small screen in 2001 for the title role in Mark Rydell’s biopic James Dean. Much critical acclaim followed that performance and Franco was on his way to becoming a Hollywood A-Lister.

Franco’s first major commercial success came in 2002 when he was chosen to play opposite Tobey Maguire in Spiderman, and again in 2004 in Spiderman II. And again in 2007 in Spiderman III. In between those commercial blockbusters, he appeared in a variety of smaller films, including City By the Sea with Robert DeNiro and Robert Altman’s The Company.

Franco really began to hit his stride as an actor in the late 2000s with acclaimed performances in Knocked Up, Pineapple Express and in 2008, Milk, which garnered an Independent Spirit Award. Showing his versatility, he went from comedy to drama to adventure with 2010’s 127 hours, for which he received an Oscar nomination. Also in 2010, he was tapped to host the 83^rd Academy Awards with Anne Hathaway.

Interestingly, with his Hollywood star clearly rising, in 2009 Franco chose to accept a recurring role on the ABC Soap Opera General Hospital, incorporating the experience into a museum exhibit. He plans to continue the role into 2011.

After leaving UCLA in the 1990s to pursue an acting career, Franco returned and received his Bachelor’s Degree in English in 2008. He took this academic proclivity to extremes by moving to New York and simultaneously attending 4 different graduate schools focusing on writing. He received his Master’s in Fine Arts from Columbia in 2010 and continues to pursue his education as a PhD candidate at Yale as well as a student at the Rhode Island School of Design. He’s a busy boy.

Franco has long been a painter, another avenue he continues to pursue along with acting and academics. He has been linked romantically with actress Ahna O’Reilly since 2006 but has never been married and has no children. No matter how you slice it, James Franco is taking his world by storm.

photo by David Shankbone

Posts

James Franco Posts

New on Netflix – January 10th and January 17th

Nominees on DVD Oh, Awards Season, I love you. I love you even more when your nominees show up on my Netflix queue, waiting to be sent to my home for my personal viewing. Sure, some epics fare better on the big screen. but with so many movies to see once the Bog Nominees are [...]

New on Netflix – December 27th and January 3rd

New Year Netflix My Christmas bloat-fest is now officially over – time to get back on the wagon, eat right, exercise and of course watch as many movies as possible. I’m counting on Netflix to provide me with sufficient new material to get me through the long winter months ahead. Brain candy instead of literal [...]

Eddie Murphy, Oscar Host? No.

Yes, I do need to question the Academy’s every decision… So have you heard? Eddie Murphy is hosting the Oscars this year. It isn’t as much of a head scratcher as last year’s choices, but I don’t think it’s a good one either. I like Eddie Murphy. When I was in college, an audio tape [...]

New on Netflix – September 6th and 13th

Back to School? No way! Back to Movies! So the kids are back in school. And that affects your movie viewing how? If you’re anything like me – not at all. But in early September everything must in some way refer to Back to School, so there you go. Perhaps you will find the perfect [...]

New on Netflix – May 31st and June 7th

Memorial Day New on Netflix! I don’t know about your neck of the woods but around here it’s hot, hot, hot on this unofficial first day of summer. Sure, I could go to the pool, but that involves leaving the house. Wouldn’t I rather watch a movie? Yes, I would! And yet again, there are [...]

9 Down, 1 To Go

Clawing my way through Oscar I’m well aware that it is now the end of April. The Oscar broadcast is two months past. Yet I’m still plowing my way through the 10 Best Film nominees from 2010, doggedly, one at a time. As of today I have either watched, slept through (sorry, Toy Story 3) [...]

New on Netflix – March 22nd and March 29th

You Want Movies? We Got Movies! A big haul for these two weeks! Some great, some good, some sucky. Something for everyone! You can find more 2011 Netflix release dates at Everything Netflix, now let’s take a look and see what’s coming our way in the next two weeks. March 22nd Due Date (comedy, [...]

Dissecting Oscar

Love it? Hate it? Let’s dig in! Anne and James Okay, let’s start with our hosts, Anne Hathaway and James Franco. In an attempt to make the broadcast more relevant to a younger demographic, we got young, supposedly hip hosts. While I suspect abject failure in attracting younger viewers, I didn’t think the [...]

New on Netflix – February 22nd and March 1st

Something to watch while waiting for Oscar? Well, we’re into the season of thaw and freeze, taunts of spring and nasty reminders of a lot more winter to come. It seems like studios don’t much like this time of year either – they aren’t bringing out a whole lot for our viewing pleasure. but like [...]

Prepping for Oscar: The Hosts

Let the countdown begin… I’ve never been shy about my love for Oscar. And ’tis the season to indulge in Oscar PDA all over the place. The gowns, the stars, the movies – the whole shebang is a glorious indulgence in self-congratulatory excess and it’s fabulous! There are lots of cynics out there (I know [...]

New on Netflix – December 28th and January 4th

Post holiday movie marathon? I think yes! So we’re finally through the holiday madness – now the kids just need to go back to school for my movie watching to return to its regular schedule. But – this year I have a couple of days off this week! I plan to squeeze a few extra [...]

New on Netflix – November 16th and November 23rd

My kingdom for a new DVD… It’s that time again – that’s right, New on Netflix is here! Let’s see what we have arriving on shelves and at netflix in the next two weeks. November 16th Predators (sci-fi action, Adrien Brody, Topher Grace) – Netflix release, DVD and Blu-Ray, delayed from original October 19th purchase [...]

New on Netflix – November 2nd and November 9th

It’s that time again! Time to check out what’s new on DVD and what’s new over at Netflix. As we know, the two aren’t always the same anymore, with delays on some Netflix releases and even an occasional Netflix scoop. Let’s see what’s up for the next couple of weeks. November 2nd Splice (sci-fi thriller, [...]