In this weekend's Rise of the Planet of the Apes, James Franco plays a San Francisco scientist attempting to develop the cure for Alzheimer's through apes. Just how did Franco transform himself from a television burnout to a believable genetic engineer, while maintaining one of the busiest and eclectic schedules in Hollywood? You can always trace a direct line through a few important roles to illustrate what led to an actor's current success. So let's look at nine pivotal performances that track the evolution of the Oscar nominated James Franco.
Never Been Kissed (1999)
Long before James Franco was being recognized as one of Hollywood's most experimental performers (or as one of its worst Academy Awards co-hosts), the actor was a gum-chomping background player in a Drew Barrymore romcom. While growing up in Palo Alto, Franco first became interested in acting as a means to overcome his shyness but the budding performer soon starting auditioning and landed a few very forgettable roles in series like Pacific Blue and Profiler. At the age of 21 though, he nabbed the part of a popular high schooler in this lighthearted comedy.
Freaks and Geeks (1999)
It wasn't until Paul Feig and Judd Apatow's short-lived (but critically beloved) Freaks and Geeks though that James Franco gained real viewer recognition. As Daniel Desario, a complicated deadbeat that alternately bickers with his teenage girlfriend (Busy Phillipps) and cares for his invalid father, Franco proved that he could embody complex, charismatic characters deserving of both your scorn and your sympathy (the latter of which is earned in this beautifully-acted clip as Desario reluctantly comes around to the idea of Dungeons and Dragons with the nerds). Franco would go on to collaborate with Apatow and his Freaks co-star Seth Rogen again in Knocked Up (during which Franco had a brief cameo) and in the 2008 stoner comedy Pineapple Express.
James Dean (2001)
If Freaks and Geeks was the milestone project for which James Franco started being recognized, James Dean was the project for which the actor started being recognized as a serious performer. The project was originally conceived as a feature film with Michael Mann attached to direct. But when Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio were dropped as leads for various reasons, Warner Bros. handed the project over to sister network TNT, and a small-screen project was born. As the story goes, Franco was chosen from 500 actors and underwent intense character immersion, allegedly smoking two packs of cigarettes a day (from zero packs a day), learning to ride a motorcycle and play the guitar and speaking with Dean's friends Martin Landau and Dennis Hopper to perfect the icon's mannerisms. In addition to this being Franco's first "serious" role, James Dean would also be the first time that the actor would take on a biographical part (as he later did in Howl, Milk and 127 Hours) and the first time that he would earn a Golden Globe nomination (for Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film).
Spider-Man (2002)
A year later, Franco made his mainstream multiplex debut in the first installment of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy. After auditioning for the part of the titular superhero, he was cast as Peter Parker's best friend and roommate Harry Osborn. Grossing $821 million worldwide, this was Franco's most successful project at the box office and remained so until 2007's Spider-Man 3, which grossed $891 million worldwide.
Good Time Max (2007)
Franco wrote and directed his first feature in 2005 (Fool's Gold, not to be mistaken with the Matthew McConaughey/Kate Hudson flick) but it wasn't until 2007 that a feature written and directed by (not to mention, starring) the budding multitasker gained some ground in the film community. The same year that Good Time Max -- an indie drama about two genius brothers who choose much different paths in life -- premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, Franco also appeared in Camille, An American Crime, Interview, Finishing the Game, In the Valley of Elah, Knocked Up and Spider-Man 3. I'm tired just listing those. Made a year after Franco re-enrolled at UCLA, Good Time Max also marks Franco's return to higher education.
Pineapple Express (2008)
Franco didn't get a chance to topline a successful comedy until he reconnected with his Freaks and Greeks brethren for 2008's stoner feature Pineapple Express. Assuming the role that Seth Rogen had originally written for himself, Franco played Saul Silver, a charismatic yet lonely drug dealer who finds himself on a high-speed misadventure with a client. Three years later, Franco tried -- and failed -- to recreate stoner comedy magic in Your Highness with his Pineapple director David Gordon Green and co-star Danny McBride.
127 Hours (2010)
Eleven years after making his first movie, Franco earned his first Oscar nomination for portraying Aron Ralston, the brave mountain climber forced to take extreme measures while stuck between two boulders, in Danny Boyle's adventure film. To prepare for the role, Franco watched Ralston's private video diaries that were made while stuck in the canyon and allegedly recited lyrics from Ralston's favorite band Phish.
General Hospital (2010)
2010 was a very "meta" year for Franco, as he became more and more interested in confusing performance art, as demonstrated by his bizarro arc on General Hospital. The madness began with the mindblowing decision to downgrade to daytime in the first place and continued as Franco helped craft his line-blurring character (Franco, a tortured performance artist "whose canvas is murder") while weaving his mother and a real life gallery show into the plot. A year later, I'm still not sure what happened in that Franco Port Charles plot but the actor is supposedly returning to the soap in September.
The 83rd Annual Academy Awards (2011)
I guess if there's one thing that could detract from the first Oscar ceremony in which you are nominated, it would be miserably hosting said ceremony in a dress that producers forced on you and delivering schlocky lines that you know are bad, only to be universally panned as one of the worst Academy Award co-hosts of all time. So yes, this February's telecast was an uncharacteristically dim moment in the overachieving performer's career. But with a full film slate ahead of him (after this weekend's Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Franco will play a cocaine-addicted lawyer in Cherry and star in Sam Raimi's highly anticipated Wizard of Oz prequel among other projects) as well as a return to General Hospital and a plan to enroll at the University of Houston for his Ph.D., the actor will have plenty of opportunities to rebound.
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