James Edward Franco born on April 19, 1978 is an American actor, filmmaker, teacher and author. His first prominent role was a lead part on the short-lived cult hit television program Freaks and Geeks; he later achieved recognition for playing the titular character in the TV biographical film James Dean (2001), for which he was awarded a Golden Globe Award. He portrayed Harry Osborn in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy. His notable films are Pineapple Express, Milk, 127 Hours, for which he received his first Academy Award nomination, Tristan & Isolde, Annapolis, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, with upcoming films, Oz the Great and Powerful, This Is the End and Lovelace. In 2009, he had a recurring role in the ABC soap opera General Hospital
Franco volunteers for the Art of Elysium charity and has taught a class at New York University about filmmaking. In 2013, he teaches a course in short film production at the University of Southern California and a course in screen writing at his alma mater, University of California, Los Angeles, where he is already an adjunct professor teaching English.
