James Franco
James Franco
James Edward Franco 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, for which he won a Golden Globe Award. For his role in 127 Hours, Franco was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. He is also known for his roles in Spider-Man, Pineapple Express, Rise of...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth19 April 1978
CityPalo Alto, CA
CountryUnited States of America
character far given great last movies tortured
As far as... what they've given me so far, in the last two movies -- I feel like I have the most kind of tortured character in the movies and so it's always great to play as an actor,
projects
I used to read a lot about myself and the projects I was doing. When I was only acting, I wouldn't read any reviews because I didn't find them to be very helpful.
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Of course there are some actors that are better than others and performances that are better than others, but they're always embedded in the greater film. They are mediated through the work of so many other people: the director directs, the lighter sets the scene, the editors edit, the music gets put to it.
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There's a tendency, when you're directing yourself, not to give the performance as much care, because you feel like there's too much focus on yourself, or that all these people are just standing around setting everything up, waiting for you.
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I guess what I enjoy most is directing, because it incorporates all aspects of filmmaking. Directing is in the same line as acting - both are popularity contests, and in both you're trying to tell a story through the film as a medium.
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There's a tacit belief that actors shouldn't write books, they're sort of allowed to direct movies but there will be a lot of skepticism, and they shouldn't do artwork or music. There are these invisible roadblocks to gain entree to these areas for actors, and you kind of have to crash through those invisible barriers.
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I might have to stumble a little bit more in public than others, but that's fine, I don't mind, I've developed a thick skin.
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In the end, I do have a group of friends and teachers whose opinions I respect, and so I guess I just have to be content with their feedback.
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Because acting was my only professional outlet, I put a ton of pressure on the roles that I did. I overstepped my bounds, I tried to control things that were out of my purview as an actor and in some cases even tried to direct my scenes because I felt I knew how they should run rather than trust the director.
biggest challenge consultant ego leave life mental people required respect shift
I don't know if I could do it. I have a lot of respect for what they do. The 'Annapolis' consultant told us the biggest challenge for most people is the mental shift that's required to go there. And you really have to leave your ego at the door. You know, it's a really different way of life than most people are used to.
capture figures gay guess love people projects sort straight trying
I feel like because I've done more gay characters, gay scenes, or gay projects than most straight actors, people see it as some sort of mission. It's more of a case-by-case basis, and just trying to capture figures that I love. I guess that a lot of the figures that I love were gay.
people doe tone
A director on a film really sets the tone of how people go about things, so everybody is happy to be at work and everybody does their best.
jobs caring vanity
If you have a profession that depends on what you look like, you can't blame somebody for caring about that. It's part of their job. So it's vanity but it's also not in a lot of cases. It's being professional.
fun often-is play
Villains can often be one note and I would say in that case, it's not fun to play the villain. It's fun to play the villain if he a) has dimension and b) the villain gets to do all the things in the movie that in life he would get punished for. In the movie, you're applauded for them if you do them with panache. And so that's why it's more fun to play the villain.