The Franco Brothers: All About James, Dave and Tom Franco

The Franco brothers grew up in an artistic household

James Franco, Dave Franco and Tom Franco were born into a creative family in Palo Alto, California.

Both of their parents went to school to study painting, and their mother, Betsy Franco, is a writer. The brothers followed in their parents' footsteps, pursuing their artistic passions.

"I know I'm fortunate to be able to say this ... both of them encouraged us to get into the arts," Dave told Vanity Fair in 2017.

James was born in 1978 and was the first to start acting professionally. He got his big break in the 1990s cult classic series Freaks and Geeks. His youngest brother Dave, who was born in 1985, dropped out of the University of Southern California three units short of graduating before moving in with James and following in his footsteps, as he told TIME in 2017.

Both brothers have since directed and starred in several films, including The Disaster Artist, which they worked on together. The middle Franco son, Tom, was born in 1980 and also had a small, non-speaking role in his brothers' film. Usually, he's more focused on the visual arts. The entrepreneur runs the Firehouse Art Collective, participates in gallery shows and frequently shares photos of his work on social media.

Most recently, Dave directed his wife Alison Brie in the 2023 romantic comedy Somebody I Used to Know. James, however, hasn't appeared in a project since 2019. In July 2022, he was cast in the coming-of-age period drama Me, You, marking his return to acting four years after being accused of sexual misconduct.

James was accused of sexually inappropriate behavior by five women in 2018. The actor denied each of the allegations and reached a deal with two of the women who filed a sexual misconduct lawsuit against him in 2019. At the time of the lawsuit, James' attorney told PEOPLE, “This is not the first time that these claims have been made and they have already been debunked."

From their childhood to their collaborations, here's everything to know about the Franco brothers, James Franco, Dave Franco and Tom Franco.

They grew up in Northern California

The brothers grew up in Palo Alto in a “weird and artsy” household, according to Dave.

“Our parents, they were both painting majors in college, and my mom has been writing her whole life,” he told Vanity Fair in 2017. Their mother, Betsy, writes novels, graphic novels, screenplays and children’s books, per her Instagram.

“My friends make fun of us. They always talk about how at our Thanksgivings we’re probably all sitting around making sculptures out of our mashed potatoes — which isn’t that far away from the truth," Dave added.

The actor also expressed his gratitude for their “really nurturing” upbringing.

The love of their household even extended to pets. Dave shared that the Francos were “a weird cat family.” At one point, they even had eight cats in their house at the same time — which, he recalled with a smile, “we actually found out was illegal in Palo Alto.”

James and Dave weren’t well-behaved kids

During a 2017 appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden, Dave and James revealed that they got into some trouble when they were younger. When he was 13, the eldest Franco and his friends would steal cologne tester bottles from the mall and sell them out of their gym lockers.

“They busted us,” he recalled. “It was a big deal — they crowbarred the lockers open.” The Francos had coincidentally left for Hawaii for Christmas vacation a few days prior to the bust. “They thought that I had, like, split town,” he said laughing.

James wasn’t the only Franco brother who broke the rules, though: Dave accidentally set fire to his dorm room when he was in college.

“When you live in a tiny dorm room with two guys, it’s not the greatest smell in the world,” Dave said. To solve the issue, he and his roommates bought a cookie dough-scented candle — which ultimately caused the fire. When the school suggested their blender was the culprit, Dave and his roommates agreed, keeping mum about the candle.

Dave made sure his career was separate from James

In the early stages of his acting career, Dave wanted to keep his projects separate from James’ work so he could forge his own path in the industry.

“As much as I love and respect my brother, I've had to distance myself from him work-wise,” he told The Irish Times in 2016. “He could tackle certain roles that I couldn't touch and vice versa. I think that's a great thing, because as much as I like being associated with him, I want to have credibility and my own career.”

Related: Dave Franco and Alison Brie's Relationship Timeline

During his interview with Vanity Fair, Dave also noted that James “didn’t necessarily encourage or discourage” him to go into acting.

“He was always there if I had any questions, but ultimately he kind of let me do my thing, which I wanted,” he said. “Kind of the hardest thing in my entire life is trying to get out of his shadow.”

Dave even declined several offers from James to work on projects together for that reason.

“It’s been hard just because as much as I love and respect him, and I really do, it’s like, I don’t wanna be known as James Franco’s little brother for the rest of my life,” he added.

Tom is an artist

Tom is an artist and the director of the Firehouse Art Collective.

“My art work is made up of 80% found materials,” he wrote on his website. “That includes the surfaces that I paint on, the paint itself, the large items and the small ones.” Tom considers himself a “folk artist” and represents images of the San Francisco Bay Area, “our shared global culture” and “scenes of my inner life.”

The middle Franco brother studied art at the University of California, Santa Cruz, before pursuing a master’s degree at California College of the Arts, per W magazine. After forming a rebellious, collaborative group with some classmates, he left the program and co-created the Firehouse Art Collective.

Per Tom’s website, their mission is to empower “the practice of artistry for the benefit of personal and community well-being. The main function is to provide physical spaces for artists to co-create a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration.” The collective has spread to six locations in the Bay Area.

In 2017, Tom and James collaborated on an exhibition featuring clay sewage pipes. James sent his brother 60 images to carve onto the pipes and Tom narrowed those down to six.

“James works really fast, has an abundance of ideas, and will bring out ideas I’ll never dare go to,” Tom told W. “But I’ll bring a finishing touch to the things he wouldn’t put the time into finishing.”

They made a movie together

In 2017, James and Dave starred in The Disaster Artist which dramatized the making of The Room (2003). James directed the film and portrayed Tommy Wiseau, the writer, director and star of the original movie, and Dave played Wiseau’s costar, Greg Sestero. Tom also made a brief appearance in the film.

In Entertainment Weekly, PEOPLE and InStyle’s studio at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival, Dave explained why he wanted to wait until The Disaster Artist to work with James.

“I didn’t want people to think I was riding his coattails,” he said. “I just wanted to do my own thing. To be completely honest, when I was first starting out, everyone knew who [James] was and so I just made a choice that I just wanted to do my own thing for a little while.”

The youngest Franco brother added that this film “felt like the right time and the right project and the right dynamic” to join forces with his older brother.

Of being on set, Tom recalled to W, “James was Tommy Wiseau the whole time. I mean, James is a character every moment of his life — it’s just now we’re on set.”

James and Tom collaborated on a film studio

James and Tom have also worked together on Elysium Bandini Studios, a philanthropic film studio and streaming platform that the elder brother co-founded in 2016.

The Art of Elysium is a nonprofit that connects artists with people in need, and they partnered with James’ production company, Rabbit Bandini Productions, to create EB Studios, which supports student and professional film projects.

All proceeds from the projects go toward The Art of Elysium, according to Variety. Per W, Tom joined the board of EB Studios and took charge of the visual arts division.

Their mom is their biggest fan

During an interview with Magnus Sundholm in 2017, Dave said that their mother is “so supportive" of all three of her sons.

At the premiere of The Disaster Artist, “she was making noises that I’ve never heard her make before because there was so many emotions going through her seeing both of her sons on-screen,” he said. “She was the only one making noises in certain areas when everyone else was very intense.”

James added, “She loves her boys so much. We kinda can do no wrong.”

The Franco brothers have also said that love is reciprocated. Asked by Extra in 2017 who was the bigger mama’s boy, James and Dave agreed that it was “even.”

The brothers admire one another

The Franco brothers often speak positively about one another. When discussing The Disaster Artist with MTV U.K., James explained that he and Dave “balance each other out” nicely.

“I have a tendency to do too much, and he’ll pull me back,” the Spring Breakers star said. “Sometimes he needs a little nudge, and I’ll give him that.”

In an interview with On Demand Entertainment about the film, Dave complimented James’ directing skills. “He’s a really great actor’s director,” he said. “He obviously understands the psyche of an actor, he knows how to talk to them and he’s really happy when he’s directing. It’s infectious.”

Dave also told Vanity Fair that Tom was the most popular Franco brother.

“For people who have met all three of us, Tom Franco is the unanimous favorite Franco,” he said. “He’s the best one. He’s the best looking, he’s just the sweetest, the nicest guy. Just the greatest guy to be around.”

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