How James Franco Achieved a Net Worth of $30 Million

Actor James Franco has become a popular funny guy in Hollywood and his career has taken off in grand style. He's handsome, funny and very wealthy. He's managed to accumulate a net worth of a whopping $30 million throughout his career, but how did he do it? We took a look at his personal and business life and here is what we found out.

Net Worth	$30 Million
Name	James Edward Franco
Age	42
Born	Palo Alto, California
Birth Date	April 19, 1978
Source of Wealth	American Actor, Director, Screenwriter, Comedian, Film Producer, Television Producer, Academic, Painter and Writer
Country	United States

The early years

James Franco didn't change his name for Hollywood. He was born on April 19 of 1978, James Edward Franco. His home town is Palo Alto, California. He has been involved in acting since he was in high school. Acting has been a passion of is since he was quite young. He appeared in high school plays and then went off to college to purse a degree in English. His parents weren't happy about the fact that he dropped out of school before graduating to pursue his ambitions as a professional actor.

On his own

Because James abandoned his studies, he received no assistance from his parents. He found himself out on his own so he obtained a job at McDonald's fast-food restaurant to earn enough money to support himself. He's no stranger to hard work or to living poor. This period in his life was a far cry from the multi-millions that he's now worth.

His first acting jobs

Franco signed up for acting lessons through Playhouse West with Robert Carnegie. He took the lessons for about a year and then started auditioning for roles in the Los Angeles area. He landed a role in a Pizza Hut television commercial. In the late '90s, he landed a part in the NBC series "Freaks and Geeks." This was his first break of any consequence. The series was canceled but James soon found other acting work and he made his film debut in 1999 in a film that was called "Never Been Kissed." He went on to appear in "Whatever It Takes" in 2000. The following year he worked as an actor in the biographical film "James Dean in 2001 where he was privileged to play the part of the title character. This was yet another big break for Franco because he won a Golden Globe for his performance in addition to nominations for Emmy and SAG awards.

The best was yet to come

One of the most groundbreaking roles for Franco was when he was cast in the role of Harry Osborn, Peter Parker's friend turned villain in "Spider Man." The film was a smashing box office success bringing in $822 million and getting him some international acclaim. He appeared in the following two sequels in the Spider Man franchise which were also highly successful with the third installment grossing $891 million.

Other notable performances

James Franco was on a big time roll in his successful acting career. He starred in the comedy film "Pineapple Express" n 2008, receiving a Golden Globe nomination, then went on to appear in "Milk" the same year, "127 Hours" in 2010, "Rise of Planet Ape" in 2011 and "Oz The Great and Powerful" in 2013. He was also in"The Interview" in 2014..

Franco is also a filmmaker

James Franco is not only a talented actor, he's also a writer, director and producer. He's performed these functions in several films. He's a hot commodity in Hollywood and has a penchant for offbeat comedy but he has also proven that he's capable of being serious when the situation calls for it.

Where did James Franco earn his millions?

In addition to earning multiple millions of dollars as an actor, he also produces, writes and directs films. Franco also serves as a tutor in several film-making, production and screenwriting schools. He's really that good and his talents are in high demand as others seek out his wisdom to learn from him. The television and film industry is where James Franco has made the bulk of his wealth. This is the guy that went from working at McDonald's for survival wages to being an award winning movie star. He knows the value of a dollar because he's had to stretch so many of them out in the early days just to make ends meet.