After turning down multiple offers from his big brother, James Franco, to work together, Dave Franco finally said “Yes,” and now the duo is opening up to ET about what led them to collaborate.
The pair star in the new flick, The Disaster Artist, a behind-the-scenes look at the making of The Room, with James also directing the film.
“He has turned me down a couple of times, yes,” James confirmed while talking to ET’s Carly Steel at the film’s press day on Monday. “Brothers should stick together!”
“I knew from the beginning as I read the book that Greg [Sestero] had written with Tom Bissell that I wanted to tell this story -- that it was an amazing story about dreamers and outsiders, but with this surface level that was so bizarre,” he added. “But I also knew that I wanted to play Tommy and that I wanted Dave to play Greg -- that we would have the right dynamic. So, I asked him and he finally said ‘Yes!’”
Dave admitted that despite his love for his big brother, he was intent on forging his own path in Hollywood and was therefore reluctant to team up with James until now.
“It was finally the right timing,” Dave said. “For the first 10 or so years of my career, I just wanted to do my own thing. I wanted to make a name for myself, and as much as I love him and respect him, I just wanted it to be separate.”
“And after a while, it’s like, I feel like I’m standing on my own two feet, [so] I was like, ‘I don’t care what people are going to say [or] if they think I am riding his coattails,’” Dave continued. “I know that I have been true to myself. We had a really great time, have very similar sensibilities and are hoping to work on a lot more things together.”
It wasn’t just the hunky brothers making the film (which hits theaters on Dec. 1.) a family affair -- Dave’s wife, actress Alison Brie, also stars in the movie. And it was James’ idea to get her involved.
“Not that Davey was against it; I was just like, ‘I think I want Alison,’” James shared.
“When you are working with family and a bunch of friends, it makes it really easy as an actor, because you feel comfortable with everyone, so you feel comfortable taking risks that you may not take otherwise… knowing that no one is going to judge you,” Dave added. “I think our best work is with our best friends and family.”
The pair are big fans of Brie’s series Glow, with James confessing he “inhaled” the show, watching it in, “like, a day.”
Meanwhile, Dave would “absolutely” jump at the chance of making a cameo alongside his wife.
In the meantime, he’s happily settling into married life after the pair secretly tied the knot in March.
“It’s amazing,” Dave gushed about being a husband. “I was trying to describe it earlier and there is no way to really describe it. It just feels good. I feel settled, I feel freed, I feel happy.”
See Dave talk more about married life in the video below.
