James Franco Movies: His 10 Best Appearances So Far

Publish date: 2024-05-09

James Franco has had his share of ups and downs in the Industry. But he was quick to bounce back. Here is a list of his top 10 James Franco that gained recognition.

James Franco is a prestigious star and actor, filmmaker, and writer in the United States who is widely known for his remarkable work. He has been awarded and nominated various times for his leading performance.

James worked in multiple movies such as 127 Hours, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, Milk, Eat, Pray, Love, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Spring Breakers, and Oz the Great and Powerful, and his roles in the mentioned movies are highly appreciated and recognized.

He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for 127 Hours; however, he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in The Disaster Artist.

List Of Top 10 Movies

Some of the best movies by James Franco are mentioned below that earned huge recognition across the country. 

1. Eat Pray Love (2010)

“Eat Pray Love” is James’ one of the leading movies. The film was based on a biography that got famous across the country and was highlighted on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” as a book.

The movie describes a woman who gets divorced from her husband and then starts her journey of discovery alone.

The woman visits many places, such as Italy, where she discovers the good taste in food. In India, she finds true spirituality and then gets attracted to Bali.

Franco plays the leading character in the movie, who has an affair with the woman when she gets divorced.

The film was directed by Ryan Murphy,  Written by  Ryan Murphy and Jennifer Salt, and starred Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem, and Billy Crudup.

2. Z The Great And Powerful (2013)

‘Oz The Great And Powerful’ is another terrific movie in which Franco plays a character of a circus performer at the turn of the century Kansas. 

He has good skills in magic and aviation tricks in the movie and has double standards of morality.

The film was directed by Sam Raimi, written by Mitchell Kapner and David Lindsay-Abaire, and starred Michelle Williams, Mila Kunis, and Rachel Weisz.

3. City By The Sea (2002)

Franco appeared on the movie screens after portraying the title character “James Dean” on television.

In “City By The Sea” he managed to work with various talented stars like Robert De Niro and Frances McDormand. 

De Niro played a character of a New York City police officer who was alienated from his drug-addicted son. 

On the other hand, Franco also played the role of a police officer who was entangled in drug-related murder, while  De Niro was busy supporting his troubled son as a police officer.

The film was directed by  Michael Caton-Jones, and written by Ken Hixon, Starred  Robert De Niro, Frances McDormand, and Patti LuPone.

4. Palo Alto (2013)

Palo Alto is one of James Franco’s movies, in which he played the role of a graduate student. 

He was enrolled in different college advanced degree programs.

Franco studied creative writing and published a short stories collection dedicated to his work to his classmates at Brooklyn College. 

Gia Coppola starred as the granddaughter of Francis Ford Coppola, while Franco played a soccer coach.

The film was directed and written by Gia Coppola and Starred Emma Roberts, Val Kilmer, and Nat Wolff.

5. In The Valley Of Elah (2007)

He had a supporting role as a military officer in “In The Valley Of Elah.”

 The film describes the story of a couple who search for their lost son, who returned from the Iraq war.

Tommy Lee Jones was nominated for the film as Best Actor. 

The film was directed and written by Paul Haggis and Starred Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Susan Sarandon

6. This Is The End (2013)

In this movie, Franco and his friends played their comedy versions.

The film takes place in Franco’s fictional house, where a party is held. An earthquake created chaos among people, and then the actors departed to survive the disaster.

The film was directed and written by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen and starred Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, and Emma Watson.

7. Spider Man (2002)

Director: Sam Raimi. Writer: David Koepp. Starring Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst.

“Spider-Man” is the most-watched movie worldwide, which has been recreated and recast multiple times and always got a high ranking after release.

Franco had a leading role in the movie. 

The film was directed by Sam Raimi and written by David Koepp and Tobey Maguire; Willem Dafoe and Kirsten Dunst starred in the movie.

8. Pineapple Express (2008)

Franco played the role of the drug dealer in the film. He worked with his former co-star from the television series “Freaks and Geeks.” 

For his best performance and leading role in the movie, he has been honored for his second Golden Globe nomination for the film as Best Actor in a Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy, since he was nominated for the first time for this award in “James Dean.”

The film was directed by David Gordon Green and written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, while  Seth Rogen, Rosie Perez, and Ed Begley Jr. starred in the movie.

9. Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes (2011)

The film was based on a novel, and many versions have been released now.

However, Franco appeared in the first of a new series of films featured in the 2000s, in which he played a role of a scientist who researched the brain for the survival of his father from Alzheimer’s Disease.

The movie was directed by Rupert Wyatt and written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, while Andy Serkis, Freida Pinto, and John Lithgow starred in the film.

10. 127 Hours (2010)

‘127 Hours’ is his leading and most-watched movie across the world, and for his performance, he received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

The film has also earned nominations from BAFTA, the Golden Globes, and SAG.

The movie was directed by Danny Boyle and written by Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy, while Kate Mara, Treat Williams, and Amber Tamblyn starred in this featured film.

(Recent Update) What Johnny Depp Claims About Him?

He is recently engaged in some controversy about his affair, which Depp claims.

Johnny Depp claimed that Amber is suspected of having an affair with James Franco after working together in the 2015 movie ‘The Adderall Diaries.’

Amber said in the interview: “he was mad at me for taking the job with James Franco. He hated James Franco and was already accusing me of secretly having a thing with him in my past since we had done Pineapple Express together.”

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