James Franco

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. For his role in 127 Hours (2010), he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Franco is known for his roles in live-action films such as Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy (2002–2007), Milk (2008), Pineapple Express (2008), Eat, Pray, Love (2010), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Spring Breakers (2012), Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), This Is the End (2013), and The Disaster Artist (2017), for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. He is known for his collaborations with fellow actor Seth Rogen, having appeared in eight films and one television series with him. Franco is also known for his work on television; his first prominent acting role was the character Daniel Desario on the short-lived ensemble comedy-drama Freaks and Geeks (1999–2000), which developed a cult following. He also portrayed the title character in the television biographical film James Dean (2001), for which he won a Golden Globe Award. Franco had a recurring role on the soap opera General Hospital (2009–2012) and starred in the limited series 11.22.63 (2016). He also stars in the David Simon created HBO drama The Deuce (2017–present). Franco volunteers for the Art of Elysium charity, and has also taught film classes at New York University, the University of Southern California, UCLA, and Palo Alto High School. After meeting on the set of Whatever It Takes in 1999, Franco dated co-star Marla Sokoloff for five years. He was later in a relationship with actress Ahna O'Reilly until 2011. He confirmed their separation in an interview for Playboy magazine's August 2011 issue, saying that his interest in education got between them. He received attention in April 2014 for trying to set a date with a 17-year-old girl from Scotland in New York (age of consent in New York is 17) via social media. The woman filmed the conversation they had and released it to the public. Franco acknowledged flirting with her. A former girlfriend, Violet Paley, also alleged that Franco once forced her to give him oral sex in a car while they were dating. On January 9, 2018, The New York Times canceled a planned event with James Franco, citing the allegations. On January 10, Franco said on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that the accusations were "not accurate." On January 11, the Los Angeles Times reported that five additional women were accusing James Franco of inappropriate or sexually exploitative behavior. Franco's attorney, Michael Plonsker, disputed these women's allegations. Link to Wikipedia biography