Dave Franco, the 27-year-old brother of James Franco, talks about his gay following, his homoerotic series of 'Funny or Die' videos and his famous brother in an exclusive interview with Pride Source.
Check out what he has to say after the jump.
Here's an excerpt from Dave's interview with Pride Source's Chris Azzopardi.
When were you first aware you had a gay following?
My friend I grew up with started calling me out and saying, "Dude, I can't even imagine what people who don't know you think of you." It's not like I'm doing these videos because I'm trying to shock or confuse people. I'm generally drawn toward material that's just different and unique and is gonna maybe surprise people a bit. So I was first aware that there was maybe some awareness of me from the gay community when all my friends were telling me there's all this stuff online and if you Google my name, the first thing that comes up is "Dave Franco Gay." (Laughs)
So right around the time you fucked yourself?
(Laughs) That didn't help things.
Whether you're having sex with yourself in "Go Fuck Yourself" or talking dirty to Chris in "You're So Hot," are these videos your way of showing your acknowledgement and support for the gay community?
Yeah, sure - definitely! I have gay friends and of course I'm comfortable enough with my sexuality that I'm open to doing videos like that. I know a huge audience is going to think that I am gay. I'm just trying to blur the lines, I guess. I'm not consciously trying to do that, but it's not something I think about. Like with my friends who are gay, it's not like that's the first thing I associate with them. They're just another friend, and they just happen to like guys.
Why are all the videos so gay?
There are a lot of very overtly gay things in these videos, but for some reason while I was making them, or while I was even initially thinking of the ideas, I swear to god I didn't think, "OK, we're gonna make another gay video that's gonna shock people." The way "You're So Hot" came about: I worked with Chris on a movie called "Fright Night" and in between takes we would play this game. It was a game that he and his buddies played growing up and it just made me laugh my ass off, so when the movie was done and we were back in L.A. I thought to myself, "This would make a really funny short."
Being comfortable with your sexuality seems to be something that runs in the Franco family. Obviously your brother also has no qualms with his sexuality. But whereas you explore it with humor, James has more of a political and sexual agenda. Do you see any overlap in the way you two explore homosexuality?
That's a good question. The main overlap is just how hard we dive into it. There's nothing subtle, I guess, about how we embrace gay culture - and there basically are no boundaries. We both push the envelope.
I don't know why a lot of what we create deals with that subject matter. I get asked that all the time, and I'm not consciously thinking to myself, "I'm gonna make these sexually explicit gay videos." It just comes through us for some reason.
You obviously have lots of appeal in the gay community. To know that, you don't have to look further than Perez Hilton's recent post, which includes a couple of pics of you and "Dear Dave Franco, FUCK ME!!!" as the headline.
Uh-oh. Come on.
How do you react to the gay community's excitement over you and your videos?
I gotta embrace it, right? I love it. At this point, I'm so happy that anyone is even aware of me or is a fan of me. It's still something that I don't think I'll ever get used to. From just what I've heard and what I've observed, the gay community, when they revolve toward someone or something or a movie, they come full force and they tell everyone about it. Tell me if I'm wrong.
No, word spreads fast in the gay community if a Franco brother is naked.Haven't seen Dave's homoerotic 'Funny or Die' videos, check it out here.
Exactly. So I totally embrace it.
