Dave Franco

Background

Franco was born in Palo Alto, California, to Betsy Lou, a poet, children’s book author, and editor; and Douglas Eugene Franco, who ran a nonprofit agency and a business. The two met as students at Stanford University. Franco grew up in California with his two older brothers, James and Tom. 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 — this is where he started learning acting skills.

In 2006, Franco made his acting debut on the C.W. drama television series “7th Heaven.” He appeared in television shows such as “Do Not Disturb” and “Young Justice.” In May 2008, he was cast in the C.W. teen drama television series “Privileged.” The series centered on a live-in tutor for two spoiled heiresses in Palm Beach. In August 2009, “Variety” announced Franco was cast in a regular role for the ninth season of “Scrubs.” 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. In August 2011, Franco starred in the 3D horror comedy film “Fright Night” alongside Colin Farrell and Toni Collette. The film received positive reviews from critics and went on to make over $41 million worldwide.

In March 2012, Franco starred in the Columbia Pictures action comedy film “21 Jump Street” as 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. Franco’s 2014 roles included the Seth Rogen comedy “Neighbors” and a cameo appearance in “22 Jump Street.”

In 2016, he reprised his roles in the sequel “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising.” 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, 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” on Netflix. Franco then had a small role in “If Beale Street Could Talk.” In 2019, Franco starred in “Zeroville,” directed by his brother James, which was originally shot in 2014. Next, he starred in the action-thriller “6 Underground.” In 2020, Franco made his directorial debut with 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. In 2022, Franco was in the main cast of the Apple TV+ mystery comedy series “The Afterparty.”