Hey, Summer Camp Fans!
There are plenty of celebrities who happen to be former summer campers and we love featuring these famous names to learn a little about them. Celebrities who had attended camp were featured in 2013 and, since then, I’ve covered over 100 celebrities on this Blog! Having covered so much ground, now I’m going back to retread some of the big names who were already featured years ago to get a closer look.
In his previous post, I shared that Mr. James Franco not only got his claim to fame from the cult classic TV show ‘Freaks and Geeks’ from 1999 but also attended a four-week program at Innerspark: California State Summer School for the Arts where he focused on a variety of artistic media from Dance to Film to Theater and Creative Writing and more!
But let’s dig deeper to see what makes this Hollywood heart throb tick…
James of all Trades
James got a lot out of his four-week stay at Innerspark! Not only did he come out a famous actor, but the guy is also a painter, an author, a professor, as well as a musician. Talented is an understatement to describe Mr. Franco.
Cashier Acting
Against his parents’ advice, James quit school at UCLA to pursue an acting career. He got a job at McDonald’s to support himself till he started landing roles and used his time talking to the customers to practice his different accents. He eventually returned to UCLA and graduated in 2008.
General Family
James ended up working alongside his mother, Betsy Lou Franco, on the soap opera ‘General Hospital’ playing the role as his mother’s character’s son on the show. James admits the experience was pretty weird to work with his mother, but he eventually got over it.
James Freak-o
When he first met James for casting on ‘Freaks and Geeks’, showrunner Judd Apatow thought James was kind of a homely guy. After James was hired, Judd was surprised to continue hearing from the women around the office how cute and dreamy they all thought he was.
“Always have one artistic thing that is pure,” James has written in his novel ‘Actors Anonymous’. “At least one thing, where you don’t compromise. You can do other things to make money, but have one pure area.” Do yourself the favor of living up to these simple and powerful words. And, as always, thanks for reading.
- John