Actor James Franco is slowly, but surely, gaining the recognition his talent deserves. Franco started off in 1999, with having a role on the NBC’s cult hit "Freaks and Geeks. James found himself yet again shining up the small screen in his first major role. “Portraying James Dean was incredible,” he says boldly. “I was apprehensive at first when approaching the project but I felt that I could portray the depth to him well.”

Apparently James wasn’t the only one who thought so, that following year he won a Golden Globe award for his performance. James Dean, a made for TV movie, remains one of the highest-ranked TNT films ever.

With his increasing fame, James signed on to heaps of projects that he believed in as an actor. “I feel that it’s important to be able to work on something meaningful” I figure that if the role is dull and ordinary, then what’s the point? Anyone could really play that” I anticipate doing projects that are meaningful and challenging. Preparing for a role can be really fun and interesting.”

With roles as a gang member in Deuces Wild, a male drug addicted gigolo who can’t escape his past in Sonny, and a drug addicted teen that gets mixed up in some wrong doing in City By The Sea, James has proven that he’s in the business to make a long lasting impression. James biggest role yet has been Harry Osborn in the Spider-Man films. “Harry is a very troubled and depressed individual. He's a pretty dark character and it's always rewarding to play a “twisted” role.”

The Spider-Man films have skyrocketed his fame in just about every aspect. “Nothing breeds success like success I guess,” he jokes. More recent films that Franco has starred in include: The Great Raid, Paint, Tristan and Isolde, and Disney’s Annapolis. James has also been given the opportunity to write and direct as well, which is something he states as something he has always been interested in. Franco also stars in the two independent films, titled The Ape and Fool’s Gold. "That's just kind of been for fun. They're based on plays I wrote with a partner and I used people from the theater group that were in the play, so that's an interest I’m slowly developing." Another one of Franco’s interests is art and painting. Many pieces by James are showcased in some of Los Angeles’s most renowned art exhibitions. With over two-dozen credits in film, Franco is approaching the peak of his career. With the release of the much-anticipated Spider-Man 3, Franco has received hundreds of scripts. “The hardest part is to really find a story you can get into, and then go on from there.”

Public Name: James Franco
Date of birth: 19 April 1978
Place of birth: Palo Alto, California, USA

Filmography

• In the Valley of Elah (2007)
• Spider-Man 3 (2007)
• Good Time Max (2006)
• Camille (2007)
• Finishing the Game (2007)
• An American Crime (2007)
• The Dead Girl (2006)
• Grasshopper (2006)
• The Wicker Man (2006)
• Flyboys (2006)
• Annapolis (2006)
• Tristan + Isolde (2006)
• The Great Raid (2005)
• The Ape (2005)
• Fool's Gold (2005)
• Spider-Man 2 (2004)
• The Company (2003)
• The Car Kid (2003)
• Mean People Suck (2003)
• City by the Sea (2002)
• Sonny (2002)
• Blind Spot (2002)
• Mother Ghost (2002)
• You Always Stalk the Ones You Love (2002)
• Deuces Wild (2002)
• Spider-Man (2002)
• James Dean (2001)
• Some Body (2001)
• "The X Files" (1 episode, 2001)
• "Freaks and Geeks" (18 episodes, 1999-2000)
• At Any Cost (2000)
• Whatever It Takes (2000)
• If Tomorrow Comes (2000)
• Never Been Kissed (1999)
• "Profiler" (1 episode, 1999)
• "To Serve and Protect" (1999)
• "Pacific Blue" (1 episode, 1997)

Awards

• Broadcast Film Critics Association Award Best Actor in a Picture Made for Television "James Dean" 2001
• Golden Globe Award Best Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television "James Dean" 2001