(Credits: Far Out / Gage Skidmore / Alamy)
Tue 3 February 2026 3:00, UK
James Franco is not a nice guy.
After years of being at the top of his game in Hollywood, the empire came crashing down when a slew of allegations were made against him by multiple women, both in the industry and without, who came forward and stated that he had behaved inappropriately towards them.
Two students at his acting school sued him on the grounds that his academic pursuits were merely a front for his predatory behaviour, and while Franco denied those specific claims and the suit was eventually settled out of court, the list of knocks against him continued to grow.
As a result of his fall from grace, Franco has been blacklisted by a number of his peers, including Seth Rogen, his long-time friend and collaborator, who publicly terminated their relationship in 2025. Busy Phillipps, who had starred alongside Franco in Freaks and Geeks, accused the actor of behaving aggressively towards her on set, while Lo Mutuc, his co-star in The Disaster Artist, claims they were coaxed into continuing with the project after they initially tried to quit in the face of the allegations. However, while all of this is incredibly alarming, one former colleague was years ahead of the game.
In a review of Man of Steel he penned for Vice, Franco spoke about his relationship with the film’s star, Henry Cavill, discussing going to see the superhero movie in London’s Leicester Square, but taking extra precautions to ensure he wasn’t seen.
“I arrived incognito,” he said, “It wasn’t my film, and because I don’t think Henry Cavill would have wanted to see me there. Not that we’re enemies. Years ago, we worked on a film together called Tristan & Isolde. I played Tristan, and he played my backstabbing sidekick. My hunch is that he didn’t like me very much. I don’t know this for certain, but I know that I wouldn’t have liked myself back then because I was a difficult young actor who took himself too seriously.”
Released in 2006, Tristan & Isolde was inspired by the medieval legend revolving around the titular characters, where Franco played Tristan, a Cornish nobleman who becomes involved in a conflict with the Irish and inadvertently falls in love with an Irish princess, played by Sophia Myles, which, as you can imagine, makes things a little awkward. As for Cavill, he plays Melot, Tristan’s cousin, who is jealous of his dashing relative, a ridiculous thought when in life, you’d definitely rather be a Henry Cavill than a James Franco.
This is pure speculation on my part, but Cavill seems like a decent chap. Maybe I’ve been blinded by his ‘hunky nerd’ persona, but I wouldn’t mind spending an afternoon with him, and, at the very least, he’s never been accused of anything inappropriate, unlike some people.
As Franco’s public reputation continues to fluctuate, it’s tempting to look back and try to spot the red flags, which raises questions about whether Cavill’s beef with his co-star was purely personal or did it run deeper. If so, should he have tried to warn us sooner? These are just some of the many ethical dilemmas that continue to dog the bubbling cauldron that is the movie industry and its men taking liberties willy-nilly.
Related Topics
