James Franco is an American actor, filmmaker, and writer. For his role in 127 Hours (2010), he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor.
Franco began auditioning in Los Angeles after 15 months of preparation. Pizza Hut’s Pizza Hut commercial was his first paid part and featured a dancing Elvis Presley.
His first break came in 1999 when he was cast in the lead role of the short-lived but well-reviewed NBC television series Freaks and Geeks, which lasted for only 18 episodes before being canceled due to low ratings.
He has since appeared in numerous guest appearances. It gained a cult favorite among viewers later. Over the years, he’s said that working on the show was “one of the most entertaining” experiences of his career.
In 2001, he was cast in filmmaker Mark Rydell’s TV biopic James Dean, playing the titular role.
From non-smoker to two packs a day of cigarettes, Franco bleached his dark brown hair blond and learned how to play the guitar as well as the bongos to immerse himself in this role.
Franco spent a lot of time talking to two of Dean’s friends in order to better understand him. Other sources of information included reading Dean’s books and watching his movies.
Meet James Franco Mother Betsy Franco
Betsy Franco is known as the mother of actor James Franco. Betsy is a writer and an occasional actress named Betsy Lou Verne. Betsy’s ancestry is Russian Jewish. James’ mother, Betsy, appeared in the soap opera “General Hospital”
The Broken Tower, Would You, and Joan’s Day Out are among the many other films in which Betsy has appeared as a supporting actor or actress as well. The shows “The Fringe Class” and “Metamorphosis: Junior Year” were both produced by her.
Betsy Lou Levine Verne was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1947. She is an author of young adult fiction. Her son frequently joins her during film screenings.
