Hollywood really lucked out with this man. Oddly enough, I actually found his breakout performance as Harry Osborn in the Spider-Man movies rather stiff, and I would have laughed out loud if someone had told me back then he’d eventually be nominated for an Oscar. I’m so glad I was mistaken — the guy is a true acting prodigy. This year alone he pulled off two extremely different (yet absolutely brilliant) performances in Oz, The Great and Powerful and Spring Breakers.
Nevertheless, he’ll never top his work on 127 Hours, in which he played Aron Ralston. Man, that was some intense acting. Did Colin Firth deserve to win the Academy Award for Best Actor that year? Well, that’s highly debatable. Franco is not only one of the most versatile actors in the industry, but he’s also an emerging director — his most recent feature As I Lay Dying was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.
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