Dave Franco

David John Franco (born June 12, 1985) is an American actor, voice actor, and director. He began his career with small roles in films such as Superbad (2007) and Charlie St. Cloud (2010). Following a starring role in the ninth season of the comedy series Scrubs, Franco had his film breakthrough as a supporting role in the buddy comedy film 21 Jump Street (2012).

Dave Franco
Franco in 2016
Born	David John Franco June 12, 1985[1] Palo Alto, California, U.S.
Education	University of Southern California (attended)
Occupation	Actor voice actor director
Years active	2006–present
Spouse(s)	Alison Brie ​ (m. 2017)​
Relatives	James Franco (brother) Tom Franco (brother)

Franco has also starred in Fright Night (2011), Now You See Me (2013) and its sequel Now You See Me 2 (2016), Neighbors (2014), Nerve (2016), and The Disaster Artist (2017). In 2020, he made his directorial debut with The Rental, which starred his wife Alison Brie.

Early life

Franco was born in Palo Alto, California, to Betsy Lou (née Verne), a poet, author, and editor, and Douglas Eugene Franco (1948–2011), who ran a Silicon Valley business;[2][3] the two met as students at Stanford University.[4] Franco's father was of Portuguese (from Madeira) and Swedish descent.[5] Franco's mother is Jewish (of Russian Jewish descent);[6] her parents had changed the surname from "Verovitz" to "Verne". Dave has stated that he is "proud" to be Jewish, which is the faith in which his mother raised Franco and his brothers.[7][8] Franco's paternal grandmother, Marjorie (Peterson) Franco, is a published author of young adult books.[9][10] Franco's maternal grandmother, Mitzie (Levine) Verne, owned the Verne Art Gallery, a prominent art gallery in Cleveland, and was an active member in the National Council of Jewish Women.[11][12][13] Franco grew up in California with his two older brothers, Tom and James.[14]

He studied at the University of Southern California, and originally envisioned himself as a high school teacher teaching creative writing, until his brother James Franco's manager guided him to a theater class when he was a sophomore, where he started learning acting skills.[15]

Career

In 2006, Franco made his acting debut on The CW drama television series 7th Heaven. He appeared in television shows such as Do Not Disturb and Young Justice. Franco has also had noticeable roles in films such as Superbad, Charlie St. Cloud, 21 Jump Street, Warm Bodies, The Shortcut and Now You See Me. In May 2008, he was cast in The CW teen drama television series Privileged.[16] The series centered on a live-in tutor for two spoiled heiresses in Palm Beach. Franco was cast in an initial major recurring role. The series premiered on September 9, 2008, to 3.1 million viewers. Ratings continued to slip each week, with the series sixth episode reaching 1.837 million viewers. The CW did not renew the series for a second season due to low ratings.[17][18]

In August 2009, Variety announced Franco was cast in a regular role for the ninth season of the ABC sitcom series Scrubs. Franco portrayed the role of medical student Cole Aaronson, whose family paid a large sum of money to Sacred Heart Hospital so that he would receive an internship. Franco went on to appear in all thirteen episodes of the ninth season and received praise from critics for his performance; however, the ninth was the final season of the series.[19]

MTV Networks' NextMovie.com named him one of its "Breakout Stars to Watch For" in 2011.[20] In August 2011, Franco starred in the 3D horror comedy film Fright Night alongside Colin Farrell and Toni Collette. The film is a remake of the 1985 film of the same name and follows a teenage boy who finds out his neighbor is a vampire. Franco played the role of popular high school student Mark. The film received positive reviews from critics and went on to make over $41 million worldwide.

In April 2012, Shalom Life ranked him and his brother James at number 2 on its list of "the 50 most talented, intelligent, funny, and gorgeous Jewish men in the world".[21] In March 2012, Franco starred in the Columbia Pictures action comedy film 21 Jump Street as Eric, a high school student and the lead drug dealer. The film was based on the 1987 television series of the same name.

In 2013, he co-starred in the zombie romance film Warm Bodies, as Perry Kelvin. The film, an adaptation of the best-selling novel Warm Bodies, followed a romance between a zombie and a human during a zombie apocalypse.[22] The same year, Franco appeared in the ensemble crime thriller film Now You See Me. To promote the film, he was interviewed on the Bob Rivers Show, based in Seattle. Rivers persuaded Franco to show the card-throwing abilities he had learned and Franco expertly sliced half a banana into a further half with his hotel card.[23]

Franco's 2014 roles included the Seth Rogen comedy Neighbors and a cameo appearance in 22 Jump Street.[24][25] In 2015, he co-starred with Vince Vaughn and Tom Wilkinson in the comedy Unfinished Business.[26]

In 2016, he reprised his roles in the sequels Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, as Pete, and Now You See Me 2, as Jack Wilder.[27][28]

In 2017, Franco appeared in the well-received comedy The Little Hours, and the acclaimed biographical comedy-drama, The Disaster Artist, which was directed by his brother, James. In the latter film, he portrays Greg Sestero, a young actor who befriends the eccentric Tommy Wiseau, and ultimately stars in Wiseau's film, The Room.

In 2018, Franco starred in the addiction drama 6 Balloons opposite Abbi Jacobson, for Netflix.[29] Franco then had a small role in If Beale Street Could Talk, directed by Barry Jenkins.[30] In 2019, Franco starred in Zeroville, directed by his brother, James, which was originally shot in 2014, portraying the role of actor Montgomery Clift.[31] He next starred in the action-thriller 6 Underground, directed by Michael Bay.[32]

In 2020, Franco made his directorial debut on the horror-thriller The Rental, from a screenplay he wrote alongside Joe Swanberg, which stars Alison Brie, Dan Stevens, Jeremy Allen White, and Sheila Vand.[33] It was released on July 24, 2020.[34]

Personal life

Franco started dating actress Alison Brie in 2012. In August 2015, the couple became engaged.[35][36] On March 13, 2017, representatives for the couple confirmed that they had married in a private ceremony.[37][38][39]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	Frat Bros.	A.J.	Short
2007	Superbad	Greg the Soccer Player
	After Sex	Sam
2008	Milk	Telephone Tree #5
2009	The Shortcut	Mark
	A Fuchsia Elephant	Michael	Short; also executive producer
2010	Greenberg	Rich
	Charlie St. Cloud	Sully
2011	The Broken Tower	Young Hart Crane
	Fright Night	Mark
2012	Would You	Dave	Short; also writer
	21 Jump Street	Eric Molson
2013	Warm Bodies	Perry Kelvin
	Now You See Me	Jack Wilder
2014	The Lego Movie	Wally (voice)
	Neighbors	Pete Regazolli
	22 Jump Street	Eric Molson	Uncredited cameo[40]
2015	Unfinished Business	Mike Pancake
2016	Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising	Pete Regazolli
	Now You See Me 2	Jack Wilder
	Nerve	Ian
2017	The Little Hours	Massetto
	The Disaster Artist	Greg Sestero
	The Lego Ninjago Movie	Lloyd Garmadon (voice)
2018	6 Balloons	Seth
	If Beale Street Could Talk	Levy[41]
2019	Zeroville	Montgomery Clift
	6 Underground	David / Six
2020	The Rental		Producer, writer and director

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	7th Heaven	Benjamin Bainsworth	Episode: "Highway to Cell"
2008	Do Not Disturb	Gus	5 episodes
2008	Greek	Gonzo	6 episodes
2008–2009	Privileged	Zachary	5 episodes
2009–2010	Scrubs	Cole Aaronson	13 episodes
2011–2012	Young Justice	Edward Nigma / Riddler (voice)	2 episodes
2014	Community	Uncredited Cameo	1 episode
2015	Other Space	Chad Simpson	2 episodes
2016	BoJack Horseman	Alexi Brosepheno (voice)	Episode: "Love And/Or Marriage"
2016–2019	Easy	Jeff	4 episodes
2018	Little Big Awesome	Dave	1 episodes
2020	The Now	Ed Poole	Upcoming series
TBA	The Afterparty	Xavier	Upcoming series

Video games

Year	Title	Voice role
2016	Marvel Avengers Academy	Tony Stark / Iron Man[42]

Web

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2011	You're So Hot	Himself	Funny or Die short; also writer
2011	Go F*ck Yourself	Himself	Funny or Die short; also writer
2012	You're So Hot: Part Deux	Himself	Funny or Die short; also writer
2013	Dream Girl	Himself	Funny or Die short; also writer and director
2013	Real Life H-O-R-S-E!	Himself	Funny or Die short; also writer
2013	Chris & Daves Epic Adventure	Himself	Funny or Die series
2014	Hazing	Himself	Funny or Die short
2014	You're So Hot: Vol. 3	Beatrix Kiddo	Funny or Die short
2015	Madden: The Movie	Blade Johnson	Madden NFL 16 promotional short

Advertising

Year	Title	Company	Notes
2020	Le Pionnier, a RIMOWA x Garrett Leight Film	RIMOWA	Director[43]

References

1. "Today in history". ABC News. Associated Press. June 12, 2014.
2. "James Franco's Father Dies at 63". E! Online. 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
3. "James Franco Biography". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on December 29, 2008. Retrieved August 8, 2008.
4. Anderson, Sam. "The James Franco Project" New York, July 25, 2010.
5. "LatinoReview.com". Franco Talks Annapolis!. Archived from the original on June 14, 2006. Retrieved May 9, 2006.
6. Stern, Claire (November 17, 2017). "Dave Franco on Working with His Brother in The Disaster Artist—and That Time Alison Brie Walked in on James Naked". InStyle. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
7. "Dave Franco and Conan O'Brien Discuss Shalom Life's JILF List [VIDEO". Shalom Life. Archived from the original on 2015-07-16. Retrieved 2014-08-24.
8. Rhone, Paysha (2009-02-14). "Spidey foe meets his match in Harvard's Hasty Pudding crew". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
9. Marquis Who's Who, Inc (1991). Who's who of emerging leaders in America. Marquis Who's Who. ISBN 0-8379-7202-7.
10. Commire, Anne (1985). Something about the Author, Volume 38. Gale Research. p. 77. ISBN 0-8103-0071-0.
11. Spevack, Violet (January 31, 2002). "Cavalcade". Cleveland Jewish News. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
12. Spevack, Violet (October 23, 2009). "Cavalcade 10/23". Cleveland Jewish News. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
13. "Case Western Reserve University". Admission Case. Archived from the original on October 24, 2007. Retrieved August 8, 2008.
14. Van Sant, Gus. "Jamesfranco". Interview. p. 1. Retrieved March 2, 2009.
15. Bans, Lauren (March 16, 2012). "On the Cover: Dave Franco". GQ. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
16. "Dave Franco biography and filmography | Dave Franco movies". Tribute.ca. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
17. "Fall TV: The CW Is No Longer Feeling Privileged | TV Guide". TVGuide.com. 2009-05-19. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
18. TV.com. "Shows We Miss: Remembering The CW's Privileged". TV.com. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
19. Korbi Ghosh (August 14, 2009). "'Scrubs' casts Dave Franco as the first of its new series regulars". Zap2It.com. Archived from the original on August 1, 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
20. Evry, Max (January 5, 2011). "25 Breakout Stars to Watch for in 2011". Next Movie. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
21. Ashley Baylen (April 20, 2012). "Top 50 Hottest Jewish Men (10–1)". Shalom Life. Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved 2013-04-22.
22. Becky Kirsch (18 January 2013). "Dave Franco Talks Warm Bodies and Why He'd Make a Goofy Zombie" (Video upload). PopSugar. POPSUGAR Inc. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
23. Franco, Dave (June 2013). "Dave Franco". The Bob Rivers Show. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
24. Kevin P. Sullivan (16 December 2013). "'22 Jump Street' NSFW Trailer: Watch Now". MTV. Viacom International Inc. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
25. Movieed (4 September 2013). "Neighbors - Official Red Band Trailer #1 HD (2014) - Zac Efron, Seth Rogen, Dave Franco, Rose Byrne" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
26. "Watch the Red-Band Trailer for Vince Vaughn's New Comedy 'Unfinished Business'". 26 November 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
27. "MIDNIGHT SUN, the NOW YOU SEE ME Sequel, and More At TIFF 2013". Collider. December 18, 2013.
28. "Dave Franco Joining James Franco in Film Based on 'The Room'". Variety. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
29. Coit, Casey (October 11, 2016). "Abbi Jacobson, Dave Franco and Jane Kaczmarek to Star in Netflix Heroin Drama '6 Balloons'". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
30. N'Duka, Amanda (30 October 2017). "'If Beale Street Could Talk': Dave Franco & Ed Skrein Cast In Barry Jenkins' Film". Deadline. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
31. Fuster, Jeremy (September 30, 2019). "James Franco's 'Zeroville' Bombs With Measly $8,900 on 80 Screens". The Wrap. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
32. Kroll, Justin (July 19, 2018). "Michael Bay's '6 Underground' Sets Ensemble to Join Ryan Reynolds (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
33. Fleming Jr, Mike (March 11, 2019). "Alison Brie, Dan Stevens To Star In Dave Franco Directing Debut 'The Rental'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
34. Fleming Jr, Mike (April 9, 2020). "IFC Lands U.S. Rights To Dave Franco-Directed Black Bear Pictures Thriller 'The Rental'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
35. "Alison Brie and Dave Franco Are Engaged! : People.com". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
36. "Exclusive! Alison Brie and Dave Franco Engaged—See the Ring Now". E! Online. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
37. "Dave Franco and Alison Brie Are Married". People.com. Retrieved 2017-03-14.
38. By  Allison Takeda (2017-01-19). "Dave Franco, Alison Brie Are Married! - Us Weekly". Usmagazine.com. Retrieved 2017-03-14.
39. "Alison Brie and Dave Franco Are Married | E! News". Eonline.com. 2017-01-20. Retrieved 2017-03-14.
40. Zalben, Alex (June 13, 2014). "'22 JUMP STREET': 9 EASTER EGGS AND CAMEOS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED". MTV. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
41. N'Duka, Amanda (30 October 2017). "'If Beale Street Could Talk': Dave Franco & Ed Skrein Cast In Barry Jenkins' Film". Deadline. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
42. Eric Goldman (4 February 2016). "Marvel Avengers Academy Launches with an All-Star Cast". IGN. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
43. "BEACH BOUND: RIMOWA X GARRETT LEIGHT". RIMOWA. Retrieved 2020-03-13.

External links

• Dave Franco at IMDb