Born on April 19, 1978 in Palo Alto, California, James Edward Franco is a Golden Globe Award-winning actor. He is also a director, producer, screenwriter and artist. He was enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles as an English major before studying acting. He took lessons at Playhouse West with Robert Carnegie.
In 1999, he was cast as the lead role of Daniel Desario in the series Freaks and Geeks. Before his big break, he auditioned for several roles, getting many in television series like Pacific Blue, To Serve and Protect and Profiler. He was also given the role of Jason in Never Been Kissed, as well as playing in If Tomorrow Comes. His first major film was the romantic comedy Whatever It Takes in 2000. The next year, he was cast as the title role in James Dean by Mark Rydell. He was recognized for his performance with a 2002 Golden Globe Award, and was nominated for an Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. He appeared in Mean People Suck before landing the role of Harry Osborn in the blockbuster hit Spider-Man in 2002. He reprised his role in 2004’s critically and commercially acclaimed sequel, Spider-Man 2. James Franco was handpicked by Robert De Niro to play his son in the drama City By the Sea.
He co-starred with Neve Campbell in 2003’s The Company and with Tyrese Gibson in 2006’s Annapolis. Between these roles, he was also cast in 2002’s Deuces Wild and You Always Stalk the Ones You Love. He also played the lead role in Nicholas Cage’s Sonny that same year. James Franco is noted for playing Tristan in the 2006 drama Tristan & Isolde. This was followed by a role in Flyboys, where he had to train before receiving his pilot’s license. Franco also briefly appeared in The Wicker Man, as well as in Grasshopper, The Dead Girl, and An American Crime. In 2007, he returned for his role in Spider-Man 3.