Fangirl’s Guide to James Franco

If you read these little pieces every week, you’re awesome and I love you. You’ve also noticed there are some people I have very little love for *cough* Shia LaBeouf *cough.* I might not see what’s so special about James Franco once you get past his Jimmy Dean looks, funny side, and… did I mention his looks? But that doesn’t mean I will skip him when it comes to fangirling.

With the number one movie in the country right now with Oz the Great and Powerful and having just gotten his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, it’s pretty hard for me to deny that this Franco character is worthy. So let’s step behind the curtain and see why you love every facet of Franco: the stoner, the Ivy Leaguer, the Oscar nominated actor, and all the rest in between.

Name: James Edward Franco
Birthday: April 19, 1978
Place of Birth: Palo Alto, CA
Twitter: @JamesFrancoTV

Best Known For

For the few of you who actually watched Freaks and Geeks when it was on the air in 1999 and not some cult classic on DVD after Seth Rogen and Co. blew up, then you’re familiar with James Franco from that short-lived show that showcased life as a teen in the ’80s. Basically, it’s like every decade; it sucks. That’s where Franco got his actual big break, but as the years went by, his looks (and of course acting chops) landed him a role as James Dean. From there he went on to do the Spider-Man movies (pre-Andrew Garfield). No, he wasn’t Spidey, he was the friend-turned-bad-guy. Franco’s also made a name for himself in the Mary Jane cinema necessity, Pineapple Express. Oh yeah, he even turned to the daytime world and did General Hospital from 2009-2012. It hasn’t just been teen must-sees, superhero trilogies, and soaps, though. Franco’s also got those “they’ll talk about these years from now roles” under his belt in movies like Milk and 127 Hours. Today he’s of course got Oz and the indie pick Lovelace, as well as his upcoming Spring Breakers, a twisted tale where he stars alongside some former Disney gals.

5 Quick James Franco Facts

1. He auditioned to be Peter Parker; well, you know how that went.
2. When he split with girlfriend Ahna O’Reilly in 2011, he told Playboy it was because his attention in education was getting between them.
3. Back in middle school he’d steal cologne. That wouldn’t be funny, but in 2008 he became the face of Gucci cologne. Wonder if he stole that for old times’ sake?
4. He wants to teach creative writing one day. Something tells me that’ll be the hardest class to get into.
5. Oscar nominee and “Best Smile.” Those are two titles he holds. He won that smile one back in high school, by the way.

Reasons You Love James Franco

I’ve met quite a few (or a lot of) James Franco fans over the years and many of them say, “Well he was just amazing in Freaks and Geeks.” I can’t tell you whether or not all of them watched it when it was on the air, but that’s where they say their love for Franco began. So I will assume that you also started your love affair there as well with Daniel Desario. Your love of that freak made you always keep an eye out, and you were ecstatic when he found his way to TNT for that James Dean movie. Of course you couldn’t help but see every Spider-Man movie too. Why? He was this pretty boy with a bad side that was never really that bad. You know he’s just acting because would a real bad boy go to school for what seems like 127 years? That’s another reason you love Franco, his love of academics. It doesn’t matter to you that he might fall asleep in class sometimes; you know that he’s just a busy guy. His smarts, talent, and looks are the reasons you love Franco. He’s not just some cute face who can barely get through his lines in a script, and you not only love that, but respect it.

Reasons I Love James Franco

I don’t think I’ve introduced you to Blink yet. See, Blink is a toy robot I’ve had since I was 14. I’m 26 this year, so there’s the equation for you. Franco could solve this one in a millisecond, because did I mention he’s a bit of a math whiz? Okay, back to Blink. I used to have Blink take pictures with celebrities because I was very anti-pictures at the time. Unlike most of the girls in the early 2000s, I didn’t have the MySpace mentality of taking “selfies.” How does this relate to James Franco? Well, he didn’t take a picture with Blink and was kind of rude about it. I took it personal and haven’t watched anything with him since. Yup, that’s right. Oz is the first movie I’ve actually wanted to see with him in a very long time and I know I’ll hit up This Is the End later this year because it has (one of) my imaginary boyfriend, Jonah Hill. Is there anything I love about James Franco though, although he hurt my feelings about my robot? I do have to say that I love that James Franco isn’t a douchebag. Yes, he was not my biggest fan, but he was nice to the other people around that day. So I can’t hate on Franco forever because I do know that he appreciates his fans, just not toy robots.