James Franco Biography and Pictures

James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor.

Early life
James Franco was born in Palo Alto, California to Doug Franco and Besty Levine Verne (a Jewish American poet, author and editor); his maternal grandmother runs the Verne Art Gallery, a prominent art gallery in Cleveland. He graduated from Palo Alto High School in 1996 and enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles as an English major, but dropped out after his freshman year to pursue acting. After studying with Robert Carnegie at Playhouse West, Franco got his first break in 1999, after he was cast in a leading role on the short-lived but well-reviewed television series Freaks and Geeks.

Film career
James Franco appeared in a few commercially unsuccessful films, including "Whatever It Takes" (2000) and Deuces Wild (2002). His reputation grew in 2001, after playing James Dean in the made-for-television movie titled James Dean. His noted resemblance to Dean, coupled with a convincing portrayal won his performance a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors' Guild Award. After seeing him in James Dean, actor Robert De Niro handpicked Franco to play his son in the drama City by the Sea.

Franco was originally considered for the lead role of Peter Parker in the film version of Spider-Man, but was instead cast in the supporting role of Harry Osborn, the son of the villainous Green Goblin. Both Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 2 (2004) were very well-received critically and commercially, and Franco has since co-starred with Neve Campbell in The Company (2003).

In 2006, Franco co-starred with Tyrese Gibson in Annapolis and played legendary hero "Tristan" in Tristan & Isolde, a love story also starring English actress Sophia Myles. He received a pilot's license in preparation for an upcoming film, "Flyboys".

James Franco has signed to return in Spider-Man 3, currently scheduled for release in 2007.

Private life
Franco has dated actress Marla Sokoloff, with whom he co-starred in the film "Whatever It Takes". He considers painting a strong interest, having attended a private painting school during his teen years.

He is currently dating model Ashley Hartman.

Selected Filmography

2007 Spider-Man 3 Harry Osborn pre-production
2006 Annapolis Jake Huard
2006 Tristan and Isolde Tristan
2005 The Great Raid Captain Prince
2004 Spider-Man 2 Harry Osborn
2003 The Company Josh
2002 City By The Sea Joey
2002 Spider-Man Harry Osborn
2002 Deuces Wild Tino
2000 Whatever It Takes Chris Campbell

James Franco Biography / Pictures