Finally! James Franco Explains Why he’s on Daytime

New York Magazine’s Vulture section recently caught up with mega hot James Franco to finally shed some light as to what possessed him to star in daytime soap opera General Hospital.  He’s got an uber hot movie career in addition to a very respectable academic career, so why seemingly take a giant step backward?

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Well, he explains it, sort of.  Here are some excerpts from the interview.

And you’re also doing General Hospital. Why?
I really don’t know the difference between [soap operas]. The one difference is that General Hospital has developed this whole organized-crime thread.

But why a soap opera at all?
Well … I’ve got other ideas for my participation in this soap opera beyond just being in this soap opera. But it’s been a blast so far. It was kind of mind-blowing. I’ve worked one day on it. It’s one day of a few. But I think we packed seven episodes of my material in. They gave me a script for the day that was as thick as a film script and that’s what we planned to shoot in a single day. No ad-libbing. If I needed it, they said they had a TelePrompTer, but the regulars didn’t use it so I didn’t want to use it, either. Anyway, I’m pretty good at remembering lines.

Is it different acting for film than it is for a daytime soap?
One big difference is that you do one take. They’re going for one take because they have about four cameras for each setup. It’s one take: You do the whole scene and then you’re on to the next. That’s three or four pages in a moment.

What’s your character like? It’s not another James Franco, is it?
I don’t know how much they want you to reveal.

Do you wear an eye patch?
I haven’t worn one yet.

Do you die?
I haven’t died yet. But they only gave me the pages for the day that we shot. I don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s all open.

So I hope that satisfies some of you soap fans.  Although, I am still mystified.  Whatever the case, I have never been a fan of soap operas, but if they’re good enough for James Franco, then they’re good enough for me.

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