James Francoa highly acclaimed actor and director, will be on Verissimo today with Silvia Toffanin to tell his story. He is known for iconic roles such as Harry Osborn in the Spider-Man trilogy and Aron Ralston in 127 Hours, a performance that earned him an Oscar nomination. Now he’s talking about his new film “Hey Joe.”

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James Franco’s story

His story begins with the narration of his diverse family background.

“My parents met at university; my mother was a poet. “My family also comes from all over the world: the last name Franco, for example, is Portuguese and my grandmother was Swedish.”

He then talks about his turbulent youth.

“I was a little shy in high school because I didn’t know what I wanted. I got arrested a few times back then, I started acting when I was 17, I discovered a passion and didn’t get arrested again. Acting saved me.” In a way, I had to change my behavior.

Then success came at a young age.

“I took acting seriously,” he explains, “when I left school my father said I was crazy, I wanted to prove him wrong. At some point, however, I became too engrossed in work, between the ages of 20 and 30.” So I went back to drama school and found the strength to start a new chapter and become a screenwriter and director. But at this point I was too much again.

That’s why he took a break during the pandemic.

“I needed a break, acting saved me when I was young, but as the years have gone by it is still the only thing that describes me. I had to separate myself from my career and put down roots.” The most important value for him today is: “What can I add to others?”

The new film and fatherhood

The latest role is that of Dean in Hey Joe, a film from this year written and directed by Claudio Giovannesi. For him it was “a great adventure”.

In the story, American Dean Barry, a World War II veteran, returns to Italy after 25 years to meet the son born during the conflict from his relationship with a Neapolitan girl. But Enzo is now an adult, already a father himself, is under the protection of a crime boss and shows no interest in getting close to his biological father.

“I’m a little late, but I want to be a father one day. Love? Yes, I’m in love, I’ve been in a relationship for a while. In the future I would like to continue working in Italy, I really like the cinema here.”