Soap Star

In 2009, after receiving critical acclaim for his appearance in Gus Van Sant's Milk, Franco surprised critics by accepting a recurring role on daytime soap opera General Hospital as 'Franco, a multimedia artist who comes to Port Charles with unfinished business with mob enforcer Jason Morgan'. He was eventually killed off in the dramatic scene you see above.

General Hospital / ABC

Performance Artist

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Franco later claimed that his appearance on General Hospital was a work of 'performance art'. He eventually presented the performance in its entirety in his experimental 2012 film Francophrenia (Or Don't Kill Me, I Know Where The Baby Is).

Francophrenia / James Franco & Ian Olds

Film Director

Francophrenia isn't Franco's only project as a filmmaker. Since 2005, he's directed sixteen feature films, including adaptations of William Faulkner (As I Lay Dying) and Cormac McCarthy (Child of God), and a biopic of Rebel Without a Cause star Sal Mineo.

Interior. Leather Bar. / RabbitBandini Productions