Dave Franco Explains How Wanting to Have Sex With Christopher Mintz-Plasse Launched His Career

You might think that Dave Franco’s career was always a given, that he would be offered big roles by virtue of being the younger brother of the already successful James Franco. That is simply not the case. Sure, name recognition no doubt helped the younger Franco when he was landing tiny cameos in movies like Superbad as Greg the Soccer Player, but as he pursued juicier roles he found himself going through the same audition process as any other actor. 

Franco’s big break out was 21 Jump Street. After that he started getting key roles in major movies like Warm Bodies and Now You See Me. But as Franco explained to us in a recent interview for his new movie Nerve, none of those projects would have happened were it not for a very vulgar short film he’d made with Christopher Mintz-Plasse.

And we mean a very, very vulgar short film. Seriously, do not press play on You’re So Hot if anyone with sensitive ears is within hearing range. So how was it responsible for Franco’s rise?

As it turns out, Franco’s early career saw him taking jobs he didn’t really want just to get acting experience. And that’s totally understandable, it’s what all actors go through, but as he puts it, “After a while, I wasn’t working on things that I was proud of, where I would literally tell my friends and family ‘Do not go see this project that I’m in.’ So I started to think I needed to take things into my own hands and that’s when I started making these short films for Funny or Die with this buddy of mine I’ve known since middle school.”

So these shorts ended up scratching an itch Franco’s acting career wasn’t quite reaching. Meanwhile he’s out auditioning for projects like every other actor does. He tells us he went in for 21 Jump Street seven times, describing it as a “really arduous audition process.” Obviously he ended up getting the job, but it was only after he was cast that directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller confessed to him that the big reason he got it was they loved You’re So Hot.

“That’s so silly to think about, because that’s a video where I’m telling my best friend Christopher Mintz-Plasse that I want to have sex with him, and that landed me my biggest film role at the time,” Franco laughs as he tells the story. “I honestly don’t believe I would be where I’m at right now without those silly short films.”

So does Dave Franco want to branch out from just acting and direct, as James Franco has done a number of times now? “I do have aspirations to do it on a feature scale, but to be honest I’m scared to. It’s a leap. I know I need to just rip the Band-Aid off. It is something I’ll do eventually.”

In the mean time, you can marvel at the NSFW wonder that is You’re So Hot. And if you’re an aspiring actor reading this, maybe take a cue from Franco and start making your own things. You may be surprised what opportunities they eventually create.

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Nerve is in theaters now. Check it out, it’s worth it.

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