Facts About His Movies

Annapolis
- Before shooting began, Franco entered boot camp for a second time (the first was for summer’s The Great Raid), which emphasized the experience of attending a rigorous academy program.

Spiderman
- He took field trips to three New England boarding schools to get a feel for Harry’s posh upbringing.

City By The Sea
- Franco was quite nervous to meet De Niro, whom he calls ‘a hero of mine.’

Freaks And Geeks
- Franco was the bad-boy babe of the show, Daniel Desario.
- Unbeknownst to anyone else, he tracked down the Minnesota high school of Paul Feig, the show’s creator, and flew out there to do a little spy work.

James Dean
- Franco studied and admired Dean long before the role came along.
- To better understand the talented but troubled Dean, he spent hours with Martin Landau, a good friend of Dean’s, and Leonard Rosenman, Dean’s onetime roommate and the composer on Dean’s films East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause. He read books on the actor and studied his movies.
- Having read that Dean was called ‘the human ashtray’ because he’d purposely burn his arms with cigarettes, Franco says he tried that, too.
- For the part, Franco, whose own mannerisms are a blend of quirky and cool much like Dean’s, watched all the films and TV appearances. He took up smoking and emulated ‘his physicality — his slouch, hand gestures and facial expressions.
- He went from being a non-smoker to inhaling two packs a day (he’s since quit), dyed his dark-brown bushy locks blond, and learned to ride a motorcycle, play guitar and the bongos.
- The performance earned Franco a Golden Globe, an Emmy nomination and the attention of every studio in Hollywood.