James Franco

Actor

Born: 19 April 1978
Birthplace: Palo Alto, California
Best known as: Harry Osborn in the Spider-Man movies
James Franco is best known as Harry Osborn -- Green Goblin, Jr. -- in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies (2002-07). He grew up in California and, after one year of college, began his acting career with small roles in TV productions in 1997. Fans remember Franco from the short-lived but critically acclaimed Judd Apatow series Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000, starring Linda Cardellini), but his career breakthrough came with his Emmy-nominated portrayal of James Dean in the 2001 TV movie James Dean. Although he lost the role of Spider-man to Tobey Maguire, he landed the role of Osborn, the son of the villainous Green Goblin (played by Willem Dafoe). In addition to that movie's sequels, Franco has appeared in a number of dramas and comedies, including City by the Sea (2002, starring Robert DeNiro), In the Valley of Elah (2007, starring Tommy Lee Jones), Pineapple Express (2008, starring Seth Rogen) and Milk (2008, starring Sean Penn).

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More on James Franco from Fact Monster:

  • James Franco - Biography of James Franco, Harry Osborn in the Spider-Man movies
  • Linda Cardellini - Biography of Linda Cardellini, Star of Freaks and Geeks and E.R.
  • Tobey Maguire - Biography of Tobey Maguire, Spider-Man in the movies
  • Seth Rogen - Biography of Seth Rogen, Star of the 2007 movie Knocked Up
  • Jason Segel - Biography of Jason Segel, Nick from Freaks and Geeks and star of Forgetting Sarah Marshall

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