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JAMES FRANCO – THE MAN WHO DOESN’T SLEEP

Y. Alipiev & M. Avdzhiev
Mar 11, 2017
5 min read

"I don't even like to sleep - I feel as if there's too much to do." - James Franco

“James Franco is exhausted. He got up at six this morning to catch a train from New York to Connecticut to attend a class at Yale, where he is studying for a PhD in English. Class over, he filmed a cameo appearance in a short student film, then got back on the train to New York for a meeting with one of his professors at NYU, where he is also enrolled, and squeezed in a visit to the doctor's before jumping in a cab to the James Hotel in SoHo, where Interview magazine is throwing a party in celebration of his first collection of short stories, Palo Alto. That's after he has sat down for an interview with me. Phew” – Tom Shone, 2011

For some, James Franco is that one guy, who likes to call himself ‘little gay’, who is nuts, who drinks, smokes, uploads half-naked photos in “Instagram”, rhymes ‘Oranges’, writes books about Lana Del Ray, and the cannot shoot high-quality movies. For others, he is the guy nominated for an Oscar and holder of the Golden Globe award for recreating one of the most precious cinema icons – James Dean. The truth is that James Franko is a combination of all those things.

Lana Del Ray and James Franco

Today, he is both adored and hated as a representation of the modern Hollywood idiot, who loves to go to extremes. A hurricane, who walks on a path of actor reincarnations like a hyperactive child that ate too much chocolate and still wants more.

There was a time when James Franco was just an actor. After dropping out of UCLA at the end of his freshman year, he pursued acting as his dream, taking classes, doing auditions, and eventually landing his big break on NBC’s Freaks and Geeks. Now, nearly 17 years after that show was canceled in the midst of its first season, it’s impossible to categorize Franco with any one title. One month he’s directing a film; the next he’s hosting an art exhibition or announcing himself as a musician. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep track of all of his careers, so we’ve decided to make it simple for you with our list of James Franco’s 10 Professions.

1. Actor

James Franco as James Dean (2001)

This is, of course, the vocation most commonly associated with Franco. He began acting in plays during his time at Palo Alto High School and then began taking acting classes after his freshman year at UCLA. Shortly after Freaks and Geeks, his James Dean-good looks landed him a role playing the iconic actor in a TV biopic in 2001. He then achieved international stardom in Marvel’s Spider-Man trilogy. His involvement in 2008’s Pineapple Express and Milk showed off his versatility as an actor, and his role in Danny Boyle’s 2010 film 127 Hours garnered him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

2. Student

"It feels really sad, to me, to go to a dark bedroom. It's like surrendering to the night or something" -James Franco

This is where we began to realize that James wasn’t a typical actor. In 2006, Franco’s acting career was in a rut (he had just done), and he decided to switch gears—only, the gear he wanted didn’t quite exist. But somehow James managed to convince UCLA advisors to waive the traditional 19-credit-per-semeseter limit and let him take as many as 62. He finished his undergrad in two years, graduating with over a 3.5/4.0 GPA, but that still wasn’t enough. No, he decided to enroll in four graduate programs: NYU (filmmaking), Columbia (MFA writing), Brooklyn College (fiction writing), and Warren Wilson College in North Carolina(poetry). He is currently a PhD student at Yale University and has also been accepted at the Rhode Island School of Design.

3. Teacher

I view filmmaking as a director's medium." - James Franco

In March 2011, it was announced that Franco would teach a one-semester course at NYU that dealt with turning works of poetry into films. He has since taught classes in English and filmmaking at USC, UCLA, and CalArts. His students have said that he’s not only present at every class, but he also is really passionate about teaching his subjects.

4. Writer

"Not having any real direction, one writer would lead me to another." - James Franco

This is another role we might have expected Franco to take on, though probably not as early in his career as he did. Having an educational background in filmmaking led him to venture behind the camera as early as 2007 for small films for school. Since then he has directed a handful of feature and short films includingand will soon direct Cormac McCarthy’s. He’s also directed music videos for bands as well-known as R.E.M.

5. Director

Making a Scene with James Franco (2017)

Though Franco has yet to publish any of his poetic work, his collection , is expected to hit the presses early next year. He has already publicized various poems, including one largely panned poem that he wrote for’s 2013 inauguration titled .

6. Poet

James Franco and Emma Roberts in Palo Alto (2013), writers: Gia Coppola, James Franco (book)

Though Franco has yet to publish any of his poetic work, his collection , is expected to hit the presses early next year. He has already publicized various poems, including one largely panned poem that he wrote for’s 2013 inauguration titled .

7. Painter

"I don't need a vacation in the traditional sense, like I would if I had a job I hated." - James Franco

Franco says he developed a love for painting when he was in high school and attended California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA)—Now this all makes sense! He didn’t even have summers off as a kid. In 2006, he had his first painting displayed at a gallery in Los Angeles and followed up with displays in Europe. Recently, news surfaced that he painted most of the art in his summer comedy, and he even painted a mural of the film on a building in Brooklyn.

8. Host/Public Speaker

James Franco and Anne Hathaway host the Oscars (2011)

This is probably the only job that doesn’t require maximum effort from Franco. I mean, can anyone forget that one time Franco stood onstage at the next to Anne Hathawayin that pink dress and blonde wig? That wasn’t the only time he’s tried his hand at hosting duties. Franco has also hosted twice and has also publicly introduced several talks by performance artist Marina Abramovic.

9. Model

"I used to care about how I looked. Now I don't care as much. Maybe because I'm so handsome." - James Franco

We all saw this one coming. Well-known actor? Check. Pretty Face? Check. Multi-million-dollar Gucci endorsement contract? Check. Moving on…

10. Musician

Ghangsta

If you’ve made it this far without rolling your eyes, chances are, you’ll find it at least mildly annoying to hear that Franco also makes music. He’s in a band called Daddy (with Rhode Island School of Design friend Tim O’Keefe).

An interesting fact is that despite his numerous projects, Franco states he does not drink. He also states that, while playing the role of James Dean, he smoked 2 cigarette boxes per day and quit smoking immediately after the shots were over.

In the period 2010-2018, Franco was also involved in approximately 110 cinema projects, including feature films, TV series and soap shows.

From 2006 to 2008, James Franco took 62 credit-hours per quarter at UCLA, three times the normal limit. During this time, he was on set filming Spider-Man 3, Pineapple Express and Milk. He earned a GPA of 3.5.

So, what was your excuse again?