James Franco

Immersive and versatile, actor James Franco brings an astounding work ethic and an intense dedication to each character he plays. Franco left UCLA after his freshman year to pursue an acting career, and his irresponsibility paid off. He landed a key role on the short-lived, but beloved, Judd Apatow/Paul Feig series Freaks and Geeks alongside fellow future stars Seth Rogen and Jason Segel. After the show's premature demise, Franco scored the title part in the made-for-TV biopic James Dean, a turn for which he won a Golden Globe. In 2002, he made the leap to the Hollywood blockbuster set with the role of Peter Parker's friend/nemesis Harry Osborn in Sam Raimi's wildly successful three-film Spider-Man franchise. He further displayed his Protean acting abilities as the lover of Sean Penn's character in the '08 biopic Milk and as an oddly endearing stoner in the action/comedy flick Pineapple Express, where he reunited with Rogen. After a "performance art"-inspired stint on the daytime soap General Hospital, Franco returned to films, appearing as Allen Ginsberg in the quietly well-received Howl, followed by a stunning, virtually solo performance in Danny Boyle's intense 127 Hours. Franco has since overcompensated for being a college dropout, working toward graduate degrees in creative writing, poetry, and filmmaking, not to mention staging his own NYC art exhibiiton and publishing his first book, Palo Alto, in 2010.