The Remarkable James Franco

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At age 32 James Franco is a bit of a renaissance man who doesn’t seem to be slowing down. American actor James Franco spreads his time presently between places like Providence Rhode Island School of Design studying digital media and Yale University working on his English PhD, as well as several other graduate programs on filmmaking. He is already an accomplished actor, director, producer, screenwriter, artist, writer, and devoted student at many other universities. All this from a UCLA dropout who took up acting as a career in 1997.

Franco’s notoriety began on the television series Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000). In 2001, Franco achieved early success by earning a Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a miniseries in the title role of the televised film James Dean. However, his early film career where becoming ungratifying in such movies like The Great Raid filmed in 2002, and not released until three years later in 2005, Annapolis (2006), Flyboys (2006), and Tristan & Isolde (2006). But that quickly changed when he costarred in Sam Raimi’s Spiderman (2002) and the popular sequels that followed.

His hit film itinerary kept growing with memorable supporting roles in Milk with Sean Penn (2008) and Pineapple Express with Seth Rogen (2008) earning Franco the Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a comedy film. He joined the cast of General Hospital in 2009 playing a recurring role in the daytime soap opera. He has produced and directed a documentary film based on TV’s Saturday Night Live. He also appeared in the comedy series 30 Rock. In 2010, Franco received praise for his portrayal of real-life mountain climber Aron Ralston in the film 127 Hours. Officially on January 25, 2011, Franco was nominated by the Academy Awards for Best Actor for his performance 127 Hours.

Franco is an expert at concentration and has the ability to focus on many things at the same time is becoming legendary. Looking back, discontented with some of his early films receiving mixed reviews and lackluster appeal, he asserted himself in 2005 by directing and writing Fool’s Gold. He later directed and co-wrote with Merriwether Williams the independent film Good Time Max (2007).

Not wanting to slack off for a moment he returned to UCLA in 2006 and never looked back as he prepped himself, and enrolled in numerous universities to complete his assorted interests in furthering his education. After taking a 62 course credit load, an astonishing number at best, he earned his undergraduate degree in 2008. He continued on to Columbia University‘s writing program, New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts for filmmaking, Brooklyn College for fiction writing, and Warren Wilson College for poetry.

As impressive as he seems James Franco in 2010 has already published a book entitled Palo Alto Stories, which has already garnished positive reviews. His writing has appeared in the pages of The Wall Street Journal, McSweeney’s, and Esquire. He is an exceptional artist as well and confesses his love of painting began long before he became an actor. In January 2006 his paintings were publicly displayed for the first time in Los Angeles, California at the Glü Gallery. He is an avid reader and writer, and can be seen often reading books and poems by such influential writers like James Joyce, William Golding, and Marcel Proust.

On February 27, 2011 Franco has agreed to cohost the Academy Awards with Anne Hathaway. On April 2011 is the release date for his re-teaming with Pineapple Express Director David Gordon’s new comedy film Your Highness with Natalie Portman, Danny McBride, and Zooey Deschanel. Franco is set to star in the science fiction prequel film Rise of the Apes for release in 2011. He just directed and wrapped his feature film The Broken Tower and is set to direct the film version of William Faulkner‘s As I Lay Dying. James Franco is not your typical actor in Hollywood just sitting around waiting for tabloid propaganda to hit the press. His easy-going manner, mildly elusive, yet viving for pushing the boundaries of himself and his film audience are ever present.

James Franco is certainly multitalented, highly focused, driven to succeed, and clearly a contender to win an Oscar for 2011. He also views life as a continuous stepping stone with an unwritten future for him to explore and expand on letting nothing holding him back is an inspiration. His film choices and roles have made him famous. Even though he considers acting almost as a side job and would rather write/direct interesting, compelling new films, pushing boundaries and shattering comfort zones to reach a new exhilarating experience. Let us hope he succeeds and takes us on that journey too.

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