In any creative endeavor, you do have to sort of take your shots. Nobody is going to beg you to go into the creative arts. So, if you want to pursue a career in something like acting or writing, the motor and the drive have to come from you. And that does take courage because, A, a lot of people want to do it, and B, it's hard. So, you have to have the guts to put yourself out there and go for it in spite of the world saying, "You know, it would be so much easier, if you didn't pursue this." So, it does take guts.
James FrancoI've decided I can't really control people's perceptions of me. All I can do is decide on what I work on and how hard I work on it.
James FrancoI put out a lot of different kinds of material, and maybe people read that as egotistical. Or maybe, since a lot of it does involve some aspect of me, they find it self-aggrandizing. But thereโs a long tradition of artists using themselves. Look, I know Iโm not perfect. And, who knows, maybe a part of it has to do with self-obsession. But itโs also about using this weird thing that is a public persona as raw material for creative projects.
James Franco