Best known for his breakthrough starring role on "Freaks and Geeks" (1999), James Franco was born in Palo Alto, California on April 19, 1978. Growing up with his two younger brothers, James graduated from Palo Alto High School in 1996 and went on to attend UCLA, majoring in English. To overcome his shyness, he got into acting while studying there, which, much to his parents' dismay, he left after only one year. After fifteen months of intensive study at Robert Carnegie's Playhouse West, James began actively pursuing his dream of finding work as an actor in Hollywood. In that short time, he landed himself a starring role on "Freaks and Geeks" (1999). The show, however, was not a hit to its viewers at the time, and was canceled after its first year. Now, it has become a cult-hit. Prior to joining "Freaks and Geeks" (1999), Franco starred in the TV miniseries To Serve and Protect (1999) (TV). After that, he had a starring role in Whatever It Takes (2000).Although he'd been working steadily, it wasn't until the TNT made-for-television movie, James Dean (2001) (TV) that James rose to fan-magazine fame and got to show off his talent. Since then, he has been working non-stop. After losing the lead role to Tobey Maguire, James settled for the part of "Harry Osborne", Spider-Man's best friend in the summer 2002 major hit Spider-Man (2002). He returned to the Osborne role for the next two films in the trilogy.Next was Deuces Wild (2002) and City by the Sea (2002), in which Robert De Niro personally had him cast, after viewing his performance in James Dean (2001) (TV). He was recently seen in David Gordon Green's Pineapple Express (2008) opposite Seth Rogen, in George C. Wolfe's Nights in Rodanthe (2008), starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane and in Paul Haggis' In the Valley of Elah (2007), starring Tommy Lee Jones. Also starring opposite Sean Penn in Gus Van Sant's Milk (2008/I) in which his performance earned him an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actor. Definitely growing out of his shyness, James Franco is turning into a legend of his own.

1. Oz: The Great and Powerful (2013) - Oz 2. Lovelace (2012) - Hugh Hefner 3. The Broken Tower (2011) - screenplay 4. Your Highness (Măria Ta) (2011) - Fabious

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5. Eames: The Architect & The Painter (2011) - (voice) 6. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Planeta Maimuţelor: Invazia) (2011) - Will Rodman

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7. The 2011 Independent Spirit Awards (2011) - Himself 8. The Green Hornet (Viespea verde 3D) (2011) - Danny Crystal Cleer (uncredited)

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9. The Broken Tower (2011) - Regizor 10. The Broken Tower (2011) - Hart Crane 11. The 83rd Annual Academy Awards (2011) - Himself - Host 12. Howl (2010) - Allen Ginsberg 13. With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story (2010) - Himself 14. Love & Distrust (2010) - Travis (segment: "Grasshopper" by Eric Kmetz) 15. Eat Pray Love (2010) - David Piccolo

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16. Date Night (2010) - Taste

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17. 127 Hours (127 de ore) (2010) - Aron Ralston

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18. Acting with James Franco (2009) - Himself 19. The Feast of Stephen (2009) - Regizor 20. The Feast of Stephen (2009) - (screenplay) 21. Erased James Franco (2009) - Himself 22. Pineapple Express (2008) - Saul Silver

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23. Nights in Rodanthe (2008) - Mark Flanner (uncredited)

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24. Milk (2008) - Scott Smith 25. Tangled Web: The Love Triangles of Spider-Man 3 (2007) - Harry Osborn (archive footage) 26. Interview (2007) - Boyfriend on Phone (voice)

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27. An American Crime (2007) - Andy 28. Spider-Man 3: UK Premiere Special (2007) - Himself 29. Spider-Man 3 (2007) - Harry Osborn / New Goblin (voice) 30. Spider-Man 3 (2007) - New Goblin / Harry Osborn 31. In the Valley of Elah (2007) - Sgt. Dan Carnelli

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32. Knocked Up (2007) - Sol (uncredited)

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33. Finishing the Game: The Search for a New Bruce Lee (2007) - Dean Silo 34. Flyboys (2006) - Blaine Rawlings 35. The Wicker Man (2006) - Bar Guy #1 36. The Holiday (2006) - Himself (uncredited) 37. Annapolis (2006) - Jake Huard 38. The Great Raid (2005) - Captain Prince 39. Making the Amazing (2004) - Himself 40. Spider-Man 2 (2004) - Harry Osborn 41. Spider-Man (2002) - Harry Osborn 42. City by the Sea (2002) - Joey 43. James Dean (2001) - James Dean 44. Whatever It Takes (2000) - Chris Campbell 45. Never Been Kissed (1999) - Jason (as James Edward Franco) 46. "Late Show with David Letterman" (1993) - Himself / ... (5 episodes, 2008-2011) 47. "Saturday Night Live" (1975) - Himself - Host / ... (3 episodes, 2008-2009)

1. Auditioned for the role of Peter Parker in Spider-Man (2002), but was given the part of Harry Osborn.

2. James appeared in two movies that premiered on the same day, Deuces Wild (2002) and Spider-Man (2002), both opening on May 3rd. The success of the two films was highly varied as Spider-Man film has to date amassed a box office gross some 67 times greater than that of Deuces.

3. He has two younger brothers, Tom and Dave Franco.

4. His parents are Betsy & Doug Franco

5. In his spare time he likes to paint.

6. Was named one of People Magazine's 50 Hottest Bachelors [2004]

7. Has his own production company - Rabbit Bandini Productions.

8. Went by the name of Ted in high school and was voted "Best Smile" at Palo Alto High School.

9. Was named one of Salon.com's "10 men who might just inspire the rebirth of Jewish male cool."

10. Although he always hated it, he started smoking for his lead role in James Dean (2001) (TV).

11. Is of Portuguese and Swedish heritage on his father's side, and of Russian Jewish heritage on his mother's side.

12. Worked with stunt coordinator Nick Powell in two movies both premiering in 2006: Tristan + Isolde (2006) and Annapolis (2006).

13. Close friends with Tobey Maguire. He also used to "babysit" Tobey's daughter on the set of Spider-Man 3 (2007).

14. His grandmother, Mitzie Verne, is an artist.

15. Is friends with Busy Philipps, who he met on the set of "Freaks and Geeks" (1999).

16. In a relationship with Marla Sokoloff. They met on the set of Whatever It Takes (2000). [2000-2004]

17. Franco told interviewer Terry Gross that when he was in junior high school, he was arrested for shoplifting cologne from a department store and reselling it with his friends at the school. He noted to Gross the irony that, in 2008, he shot an advertising campaign in which he became the face of Gucci cologne.

18. While a guest on her NPR program "Fresh Air", Franco told interviewer Terry Gross that when he went back to UCLA to finish his undergraduate degree in creative writing, he was worried that his classmates and professors might think of him as "sliding by" because of his acting career, so he took a lot of extra courses to make sure they knew he was serious. He told Gross that the cap on the number of units that a student is allowed to take in a quarter was 19, but in his last quarter he took 62 units - which as far as he knows is a record for a single student.

19. Studied acting with Ivana Chubbuck, whose students include stars such as Charlize Theron, Halle Berry, Elisabeth Shue, Catherine Keener, Carrie-Anne Moss, Djimon Hounsou, Garry Shandling and Jon Voight.

20. In 2009, he reunited with his Deuces Wild (2002) co-star, Ronnie Marmo, on "General Hospital" (1963).

21. Franco's Creative Writing professors have included writers such as Mona Simpson, Jonathan Lethem, Gary Shteyngart, Amy Hempel, and Michael Cunningham.

22. Chosen by Premiere magazine as one of the "The 40 Most Handsome Hollywood Men"(#1)[2009].

23. Mother Betsy Franco also played his character's mother on "General Hospital" (1963).

24. He completed Private Pilots License to prepare for his role in 2006's 'Flyboys'.

25. Is a talented mathematician. He interned at Lockheed Martin, the American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company.

26. Has directed short films for two REM songs, Blue and That Someone Is You from their 2011 album 'Collapse Into Now'.

27. Franco volunteers at the charity Art of Elysium in Los Angeles, helping kids with serious medical conditions. In January 2011, he was honoured for his work at the hospital, receiving the Spirit of Elysium accolade.

28. Was in a relationship with Ahna O'Reilly (2006-July 2011).

29. His parents met at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.