James Edward Franco or very well known as ‘James Franco’ is an American actor, poet, author, film director, film producer, film director, screenwriter, model, and teacher.
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Personal Details
Stage Name: James Franco
Full Name: James Edward Franco
Gender: Male
Birthday: April 19, 1978
Place of Origin: California, United States
Age: 42
Height: 5’10”
Nationality: American
Sexual Orientation: Straight Male
Status: Single
Spouse: None
Profession: Actor, Poet, Author, Film Editor, Film Director, Film Producer, Screenwriter, Model, and Teacher
James Edward Franco Total Net Worth: $30 million US Dollars
Personal Life
He was born on April 19, 1978, lived and grew up in Palo Alto, California, United States. His parents are Betsy Lou is an occasional actress and a children’s book author while his father Douglas Eugene Franco ran a business in Silicon Valley. He is a descendant of a Portuguese, Swedish, and Russian Jewish ancestry.
Growing up with his family, he is exposed dominantly on the academic aspects, this came from his paternal grandmother ‘Marjorie’ who is an author of published young adult books and his maternal grandmother ‘Mitzie’ who owns a well known Verne Art Gallery and an active member of the National Council of Jewish women in Cleveland, Ohio.
He has two brothers, both of them are actors Dave and Tom Franco.
As an academic, James was encouraged to always do well in his studies, with this he did good in his SATs. He had his education in Palo Alto High School and graduated in 1996.
In his teenage years, he was exposed to drinking and graffiti, he also ran in a group that stole designer perfumes from stores and sold them to their classmates.
James was interested to be a marine zoologist, but secretly wanted to become an actor. He enrolled as an English major in University of California, Los Angeles, where after his first year, dropped the course out to pursue his dream of acting. In his time, James had to wait for two years to have an audition, so instead, he took up an acting class at the Playhouse West with Robert Carnegie. During this time, it was a hard time for him since his parents refused to support him, he went to take a late night job at McDonalds to earn for himself. He took the opportunity while working to practice his accents and impressions with the customers.
James’ religious perspective is that he is Jewish, where in 2015, he had his Bar Mitzvah official ceremony that was presided over by a rabbi.
He has always been in support of the LGBT community that many fans speculate about his sexuality. James response to them that he accepted that he is gay by his art but a straight man in his life.
He dated ‘Whatever It Takes’ co-star Marla Sokoloff for 5 years starting 1999. Later, he had a relationship with Ahna O’Reilly up until 2011.
James Edward Franco Career
James’ passion in acting began when he was still at High School by acting in plays. Although he doubted himself because he was afraid of rejection, he worked his way through that phase and committed himself to becoming one.
After his two years of training with Robert, he went to Los Angeles and started his auditions. His first appearance and paid role was in a Pizza Hut television commercial that features a dancing Elvis Presley. He also had several television guest roles as a start.
His first career break happened in 1999, when he was casted as one of the main roles in a short run but positive NBC TV series of ‘Freaks and Geeks’. This was James’ most fun experience working.
His first film debut is ‘Never Been Kissed’, then after is ‘Whatever It Takes’ where he played as Chris, a popular jock. Continuing this year, he played roles in films ‘James Dean’, that landed him a Golden Globe Award and nominations from Emmy Award.
In 2002, James made a worldwide recognition by playing as Harry Osborne, the son of Green Goblin, in a 2002 superhero film, ‘Spiderman’. The film has been a commercial and critical success that gained several critics attention. In the same year he also starred in ‘Sonny’, ‘City by the Sea’, ‘The Company’, ‘Spider-man 2’, ‘The Ape’, ‘The Great Raid’, ‘Tristan & Isolde’, ‘Flyboys’, ‘The Wicker Man’, and ‘The Holiday’.
His talent in movie transition and character adaptation is well known for playing roles in different movie genres. His career success continued to present while professionalizing his career in film directing, producing, and writing.
James has also engaged in different industries such as Late Night Shows, Modeling, and Advertising. Gucci’s men fragrance named a perfume after him.
He also started collecting and publishing his own short stories. Several of his notable works have been recognized by the Los Angeles Times.
James as a teacher taught in a graduate-level film course in New York University, Tisch School of the Arts. This includes classes in screenwriting at USC and UCLA on an online learning community called Skillshare.
Awards and Nominations
All throughout his career, James has been acknowledged by his talent and dedication to work by receiving several awards and nominations.
He has received nominations in Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, Critics Awards, Emmy Awards, Empire Awards, Festival Awards, Independent Spirit Awards, Golden Raspberry Awards, Grammy Awards, MTV Movie Awards, People’s Choice Awards, Satellite Awards, Saturn Awards, Young Artist Awards, and other film & television awards.
He has won awards in Village Voice Film Poll, International Online Cinema Awards, International Cinephile Society Awards, Hollywood Film Awards, Golden Shmoe Awards, Gotham Independent Film Awards, Chlotrudis Awards, Hasty Pudding Theatricals, Independent Spirit Awards, Festival Awards, Critics Awards, and Golden Globe Awards.
James Franco Total Net Worth
James is well known as one of the unique talents in his generation. He has been recognized by his fellow artists, critics, and the film industry. He is successful in his endeavors as an actor, poet, author, screenwriter, film producer, film director, film editor, and teacher.
He has a total net worth of $30 million.