The director who inspired Dave Franco to become a filmmaker: “The number one person”
With a face straight out of an Abercrombie & Fitch catalogue, Dave Franco was always going to have a place in Hollywood, but he’s more than just a pretty face and has proven himself in films like 21 Jump Street, Together, and the Now You See Me franchise.
Despite being around for the better part of two decades, he seems to only now be hitting his stride, picking up his first acting Emmy nomination in 2025 for his guest role in pal Seth Rogen’s show The Studio. However, in 2020, Franco took steps to diversify his career by getting behind the camera for the horror movie The Rental, which starred Dan Stevens, Jeremy Allen White, and Franco’s real-life wife, Alison Brie.
Three years later, he followed this up with Somebody I Used to Know, which sadly wasn’t a Gotye biopic, but rather a romantic comedy also starring Brie; both films got decent reviews, with both hovering around the 70% region on Rotten Tomatoes.
In an interview with GQ, Franco spoke about why he made the decision to transition from actor to director, noting that he was influenced by a number of great filmmakers, but one name stood out above the rest.
“The number one person who I’m inspired by is Spike Jonze,” he explained, “I remember when I was 14, I was working in a mom-and-pop video store, and Being John Malkovich came out, and I watched it, and it changed everything I thought about movies and what you can do and what limits you can push and how weird you can get.”
He further added of his admiration, “I’ve been in love with everything he’s done since. He makes wholly original films that keep you guessing and have such a specific tone, and they’re so beautifully shot. He’s the best.”
Beginning his career filming skateboarders and BMX riders, Jonze eventually moved into making music videos for the likes of Weezer, Beastie Boys, and Björk, before jumping into the feature film realm with 1999’s Being John Malkovich. The film starred John Cusack as a man who discovers a magical portal that takes him inside the mind of the titular actor (who plays himself in one of his best-ever roles), catapulting Jonze to worldwide recognition by earning him a ‘Best Director’ nomination at the Oscars.
One of the things Franco admires most about Jonze is the variety of his work. From the rough, zero-budget nature of his skating videos to the irreverent Being John Malkovich to the beautiful and thought-provoking Her, there’s very little consistency across the filmmaker’s career, but that is far from a bad thing. While the stylish auteurs of the world often get all the credit, there’s something to be said about a director who can adapt themselves to fit the project, rather than the other way around.
While Franco hasn’t hit the ground running in the same way as his idol, there’s still plenty of time for him to make an impact. Nobody would have guessed that the guy who directed the video for ‘Buddy Holly’ would one day win an Oscar, so literally anything could happen.
