James Franco was born on April 19, 1978 in Palo Alto, California. He enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles as an English major but dropped out after freshman year to pursue a career as an actor, taking acting lessons with Robert Carnegie at Playhouse West. After 15 months of training, he began auditioning in Los Angeles California and got his first break in 1990 after he was cast in the leading role of the television series Freaks and Geeks. His first major film was the romantic comedy Whatever It Takes. He was later cast in the title role of the 2001 TV special James Dean. He received a Golden Globe Award and nominationations for an Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2002 the superhero film Spider-Man was released and James Franco played Harry Osborn, the son of the villain. Spider-Man was a commercial and critical success. In the same year he was cast in the drama City by the Sea. The following year he co-starred in Robert Altman's The Company. With the success of the first Spider-Man film he was able to reprise the role in the sequel Spider-Man 2 in 2004. The movie was well received by critics. He continues his acting career with roles in films such as the Great Raid, Annapolis, Flyboys and Wicker Man. He is a successful actor, director and screenwriter.
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