Dave Franco explains 'complicated' relationship he has with brother James 'who he still loves'

Dave Franco was known for a long time in Hollywood, as ‘James Franco’s little brother’ but with the success of his career in the last few years he has become famous in his own right.

Between 21 Jump Street, his messed-up horror film Together which he starred in alongside his wife Alison Brie, and his performance in Seth Rogen’s The Studio, Dave has been carving his own path.

Comparisons to his disgraced brother persist however, and the actor has addressed this in a rare comment about James. The 127 Hours star was essentially cast out of Hollywood after allegations of sexual misconduct emerged in 2018 amid his Oscar campaign for The Disaster Artist.

James was accused of sexual assault by an ex-girlfriend and was sued by multiple ex-students of his acting school. He was accused of being ‘sexually inappropriate’ by these students, and running a ‘Sex Scenes’ class. The actor has since admitted to sleeping with his students, but claimed the class was separate to this.

Dave has never spoken about the allegations made against James, with his brother coming forward in 2021 on the Jess Cagle Show and saying: “I don't want Seth [Rogen, who has cut ties with James] or my brother or anyone to have to answer for me anymore.

Despite this, Dave gave a rare comment on his relationship with his brother in a new appearance on Dax Shephard’s The Armchair Expert podcast.

Dave said he ‘loves his brother’ but has worked hard to make his own name for himself in Hollywood

Dave and James Franco (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for SXSW)

Shephard and the 21 Jump Street actor were discussing what it was like to interview family members and those close to you, particularly how it leads you to ask questions of each other you normally never would.

Dave pointed to an Esquire shoot where he interviewed his brother, saying he realised mid-interview: “Woah, we’ve never talked about any of this and you get kind of vulnerable and it's kind of nice and you learn about each other.”

One of the co-stars discussed the fact they were surprised they’d ‘forgot’ Dave was related to James, with the Together actor saying it is ‘complicated’.

He continued: “I’ve felt a lot more [his own person] in recent years. It’s a complicated thing where I love my brother and I'm so grateful for the advice he gave me coming through this business.”

The actor said he appreciated watching how his brother ‘navigated certain situations’ and will ‘always be grateful for that’. He added however: “I think in recent years I've kind of gone down my path long enough that people have started to give me my own due." Dave said that this was especially hard because 'he’s a very talented [actor].'

Shephard claimed it was ‘like Frank Stallone and Sylvester, but that Dave had risen up to be co-Sylvester’.