Why He's No. 67

Aside from his ongoing role as Harry Osborn in the Spider-Man movies, James has appeared in a variety of diverse projects, including a cult TV show (Freaks and Geeks), a teen comedy (2000’s Whatever It Takes), and a ballet-centric drama (2003’s The Company).

Back Stage

Franco was born in Palo Alto, California to Betsy Franco (née Verne), a poet, author and editor, and Doug Franco. His maternal grandmother, Mitzi Verne, runs the Verne Art Gallery, a prominent art gallery in Cleveland, Ohio. Franco's father is of Portuguese and Swedish descent, while his mother is Jewish, a descendant of immigrants from Russia. Franco grew up in California with his two younger brothers, Tom and David, and graduated from Palo Alto High School in 1996, where he was elected by his senior class as the boy with the "best smile". He then enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles as an English major, and studied acting. Much to the disapproval of his parents, he dropped out after his freshman year and chose to pursue a professional career as an actor, taking acting lessons with Robert Carnegie at Playhouse West. After fifteen months of training, he began auditioning in Los Angeles, California and 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. Franco has since described the series as "one of the most fun" work experiences that he has had. Franco's first major film was the romantic comedy Whatever It Takes (2000), where he met his co-star, now ex-girlfriend Marla Sokoloff. He was subsequently cast as James Dean in director Mark Rydell's 2001 biographical TV film of the same name. The role brought Franco much critical acclaim, and he was distinguished in 2002 with a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominated for an Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. 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. Actor Robert De Niro handpicked Franco to play his son in the drama City by the Sea. Both Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 2 (2004) were very well-received critically and commercially. Franco has also co-starred with Neve Campbell in Robert Altman's The Company (2003).

In 2006, Franco co-starred with Tyrese Gibson in Annapolis and played legendary hero Tristan in Tristan & Isolde, a dramatization of the Tristan and Iseult story also starring English actress Sophia Myles. He then trained with the stunt team "The Blue Angels" and received a pilot's license in preparation for his role in Flyboys, which was released in September of 2006; the same month, Franco appeared briefly in The Wicker Man, a horror film starring Nicolas Cage (who directed him in Sonny). Franco's next role was in Spider-Man 3, released on May 1, 2007. He is scheduled to star in several other films due for a 2007 release, including Pineapple Express, a comedy co-starring Seth Rogen and written and produced by Judd Apatow, both of whom worked with Franco on Freaks and Geeks. Franco made cameo appearances in The Holiday and Knocked Up. He was also featured in the mockumentary, "Finding Ben Stone", on the two-disc edition of Knocked Up, where he gets fired from the lead role. Art — painting in particular — is a talent Franco developed during his high school years while attending a private painting school, CSSSA. Franco has said that painting was the "outlet" he needed in high school, and that he "has actually been painting longer than he has been acting." His paintings were displayed publicly for the first time at the Glü Gallery in Los Angeles, California from January 7, 2006 through February 11, 2006.

Forcaste

Franco is not only a talented actor, he also is a director, screenwriter and film producer. The role of Harry Osborn in the Spider-Man films made him even more famous and popular. Besides this he had lead roles in three important Hollywood movies: "Tristan & Isolde", "Annapolis" and "Flyboys". At the beginning of his career he played in the television series "Freaks and Geeks". In 2000 he was seen in the romantic comedy "Whatever It Takes" and after three years in "The Company".