James Franco spoke about the way his life changed since being 'cast out' of Hollywood.
He does still work as an actor and has several projects he's appeared in over the past couple of years, though between 2019's Arctic Dogs and appearing in Karantina in 2024 there was a major gap in his CV.
Franco took a 'hiatus' from Hollywood in 2019 following a lawsuit and accusations of sexual misconduct, with the actor saying the allegations were 'not accurate' but that he didn't want to 'shut down' people who 'didn’t have a voice'.
In the end the 48-year-old paid out $2.23million (£1.67million) to settle a lawsuit brought by two former students of his now-defunct film school, Studio 4.
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It also effectively ended his friendship with the likes of Seth Rogen, and took a break of several years from Hollywood before returning to more roles a few years later.
Speaking to Variety in 2024, Franco was asked if he thought that was ‘unfair’ he replied: “I mean, it is what it is. I’ve honestly moved past it. It was dealt with, and I got to change.
“So that’s it, it’s over. I mean, I’ve worked in the US too. So I’m just trying to move on.”
In the interview, the disgraced actor said he took a ‘pause’ and experienced ‘changing priorities’ and nowadays seeks different things to ‘fulfil him in life’.
“Ultimately, I think I’m kind of grateful because it did afford me a chance to just do whatever private work and really change what I need to change,” Franco said.
“So now that I am working, I can just be there for the project. It’s not about me trying to fill some hole with work, it’s just about, ‘Wow, I have a really great life. I’m very grateful, and I hope to serve whatever project I do'."
He said he'd been essentially 'cancelled', but insisted he'd used the time for a 'good purpose'.
The actor said: "And whatever had been going on with me before, I had to change my whole way of life.
"So I am proud of the kind of work I did during that time. And yeah, I wasn’t working in movies, but I certainly was doing a lot of work to change who I was."
During an appearance on The Jess Cagle Podcast in 2021, Franco admitted he had been sleeping with students at his now-defunct film school.
He said it 'was wrong', but claimed it 'wasn't a master plan on my part'.
“Being told you’re bad is painful,” he said.
“But ultimately, that’s kind of what I needed to just stop going the way I was going.”
Topics: James Franco, Celebrity
Joe Harker