James...

I was looking up filmographies of actors that I liked yesterday when I realized that there were more than one "James" in the list. I made the conclusion, then, that people named James must all be blessed with handsome looks. As I was googling pictures today, I also couldn't help but notice how all these James have rather small eyes for being Caucasian, yet their eyes are mysterious and had some kind of unexplainable deepness to them.

jamesDEAN

February 8, 1931-September 30, 1955

 

I'm sure if you've ever seen an American movie, you've heard of this superstar. His career was unfortunately cut short to a mere four years after passing away in a car accident when he was only 24 years old. Normally, I would never have watched movies dating earlier than then 1990's unless it was from Disney, to be honest. But after taking a Film Studies class my senior year in high school, I began to appreciate older movies and even got myself to sit through black and white movies. So while I was watching all these old movies, I decided to see what the hype about James Dean was about. I was curious to know whether or not James Dean would live up to his name. So I borrowed, "A Rebel Without A Cause", and after watching it, I looked up the rest of his filmography only to discover that it was a very short one that consisted of only two more movies, "Giant" and "East of Eden". To sum it all up, I was also swept away by James Deans' performance and roles. It is unfortunate that all that remains of James Dean are the three movies he was in, but they are timeless and will remain as classics with future generations.

jamesMARSDEN

September 18, 1973-present

 

Now, on the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't recognize the name James Marsden. He's never really gotten the lead character in anything, really. He's been a part of blockbuster and well known films, it's just that he's never played the starring role. Never having been a huge fan of  "The Notebook" or of the X-Men series, James Marsden didn't really catch my attention until I saw him in "Hairspray". Soon after, I watched "Enchanted" and "27 Dresses" and really liked him even more. He might be a little too pretty for my liking, but still, you can't deny his charms. Kind of makes me want to re-watch "The Notebook" just to see him and "27 Dresses" because I liked him in the movie...I think he will grow to be a charismatic older man that will continue to play great supporting roles. I hope he gets a breakout role that will give him some more recognition, even though he's already had a pretty great career. 

jamesFRANCO

April 19, 1978 - present

James Franco, what can I say? He's only 32, yet he's accomplished so much, not only as an actor, but also as a producer, director, screenwriter, author, and even painter. And to top it all off, he's ambitious and smart. He graduated as an undergraduate from UCLA with a 3.5, completed post-undergraduate studies at Columbia University & NYU, and is currently, working towards his Ph.D at Yale University. I first noticed him, as many others might have, as the evil antagonist in the Spider-Man trilogy. Since he got his big break, he's taken on a variety of roles from crude humor movies like "Pineapple Express", serious films like "Annapolis", romantic drama films like "Tristan and Isolde", cameo roles, and even went back to the silver screen soap opera "General Hospital". Talk about staying grounded. Ironically, he played "James Dean" in a biopic about him, the resemblance is kind of uncanny. James Franco definitely has the skills and abilities to do almost anything he wants in the future. I hope to see him do more of what he loves and continues to challenge himself. Writing this helped me learn a lot more about him and has given me a lot more respect for him. 

Oh! Looking at his filmography, I take back that he first caught my eye in Spider-Man. In high school, my psychology teacher would let us watch "Freaks and Geeks", a short-lived NBC television series based on high school students from the eighties, and Franco played a druggie. He first caught my eye there. It's unfortunate that the TV show didn't stay on air, because it launched a lot of pretty big stars like Seth Rogen.

Just for kicks and giggles, and to remind us that James Franco, too, is human...The infamous picture of him sleeping in his lecture at Columbia University, courtesy of TMZ.

That's all folks! Name your kids JAMES if you want gorgeous thespian children! just kidding.