The Last Word: James Franco on Nudity, Social Media and the Art of 'Overdoing' It

'The Disaster Artist' actor-director opens up about why ego is a killer, Broadway musicals and Obama getting his name wrong
By Sean Woods
1 day ago

Mark Summers for Rolling Stone
This week, James Franco gives arguably the greatest – and inarguably one of the most bizarre – performances of his career in The Disaster Artist, a bonkers account on the making of the worst movie ever made. The 39-year-old actor, who also directed the film, plays Tommy Wiseau the mysterious figure behind The Room, an incomprehensible fever-dream of a drama that's become a midnight-movie staple and a cult classic since its release in 2003. (Franco says he stayed in character for the entire performance, speaking in Wiseau's unplaceable accent to the cast and crew for the entire shoot.)

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The film caps a typically big year for the always busy star. He's just finished starring in David Simon's latest opus The Deuce, a mean and gritty drama about Times Square and the birth of the porn industry in the 1970s; he's got several projects in various stages of production; and he's beginning to hit the awards-season circuit to capitalize on The Disaster Artist's Oscar buzz. Franco was cheerful when he got on the phone with to discuss the pitfalls of fame, teenage brushes with the law and quitting social media. "I have lived past that age of James Dean age," he says. "I'm not looking at Dean as a hero anymore. I am looking to people like Brian Cranston and Meryl Streep, who've been able to maintain a career and have gratitude and humility and are still amazing at what they do."

What's the best advice you've ever received?
Get out of your own way. Ego is a killer.

What does religion or spirituality mean to you?
Spirituality is crucial. It is a very simple thing: You have to give the world back to the world. It is the law that I abide by. You get out of life what you put in. You put flop in, you get flop out. You put in love, you get out love.