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James Franco is a Actor, Director, Scriptwriter, Producer, Editor and Cinematography American born on 19 april 1978 at Palo Alto (USA)

James Franco

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Birth name James Edward Franco
Nationality USA
Birth 19 april 1978 (46 years) at Palo Alto (USA)
Awards Indiana Film Journalists Association Award for Best Actor

James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor, and filmmaker. His first prominent acting role was the lead character Daniel Desario on the short-lived cult hit television program Freaks and Geeks. He later played the title character in the TV biographical film James Dean (2001), for which he won a Golden Globe Award. He played Harry Osborn in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy (2002–2007). He is also known for his roles in the films Flyboys (2006), Pineapple Express (2008), Milk (2008), 127 Hours (2010), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), Spring Breakers (2013), This Is the End (2013), and The Interview (2014). He had a recurring role in the ABC soap opera General Hospital. For his role in 127 Hours (2010), Franco was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. In 2014, he made his Broadway debut in Of Mice and Men.

Franco volunteers for the Art of Elysium charity and has taught a class at New York University in feature filmmaking and production. In 2013, he began teaching a course in short film production at the University of Southern California and a course in screenwriting at his alma mater, University of California, Los Angeles. In September 2015, Franco began teaching a film class to high school students at Palo Alto High School.

Biography

Franco has described himself as Jewish; regarding his secular upbringing, he told The Guardian that he feels as if he has "missed out on the Jewish experience", but has been told not to worry about that by his Jewish friends and said in the same interview that he likes "the idea of religion as a source of community". When asked if he was a "believer," he responded "In God? I don't know. Yes. To a certain extent. It's a complicated question". In 2015, Franco had an official Bar Mitzvah ceremony, presided over by a rabbi.

Due to his support for the LGBT community, and his portrayal of gay characters in his projects, Franco's sexuality has been a subject of discussion in media sources, relentlessly questioning if he himself is gay. In 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". Franco added, "Well, I like to think that I’m gay in my art and straight in my life".

The rumors concerning his sexuality led to a Gawker article linking him to a New York Post Page Six blind item about a closeted gay actor, nicknamed "the Gay Rapist". Despite the victim of the alleged attack denying that it was Franco, two magazines then contacted Franco's lawyer to alert them that they might run stories suggesting his involvement, but were unable to, as at least part of their stories were fabricated. However, Gawker refused to take their article down as they were simply reporting what another outlet published and instead offered him a chance to make a comment about the speculation on its website. He declined, hoping it would die down. The actor later called the episode very offensive because he has friends who have been raped. In July 2015, a former Gawker employee admitted on his Twitter account — in now deleted posts — that he was pressured to write a series of articles about "the Gay Rapist", and lead readers into believing the man was Franco.

After meeting on the set of Whatever It Takes, Franco dated co-star Marla Sokoloff for five years. He was later in a relationship with actress Ahna O'Reilly, until 2011. He confirmed their separation in an interview for Playboy magazine's August 2011 issue, saying that his interest in education got between them. He received unwelcome attention in April 2014 for trying to set a date with a 17-year-old girl from Scotland in New York (age of consent in New York is 17) via social media. The woman filmed the conversation they had and released it to the public. Franco acknowledged flirting with her.