James Franco's inner Marlene Dietrich comes bursting out on the current cover of Candy magazine, where the actor appears heavily made-up and in full drag.
The photo was part of a shoot by hipster lensman Terry Richardson for a magazine that calls itself "the first fashion magazine ever completely dedicated to celebrating transvestism, transexuality, cross dressing and androgyny, in all its manifestations."
Franco, who also showed up on a recent cover of The Advocate, said he's not gay but would have no problem coming out if he were.
"Sure, I'd tell you if I was [gay]," he told The Advocate. "I guess the reason I wouldn't is because I'd be worried that it would hurt my career. I suppose that's the reason one wouldn't do that, right? But no, that wouldn't be something that would deter me. I'm going to do projects that I want to do."
The genre-hopping, multi-media star has turned his life and career into something of a performance art piece. He's starred in blockbuster movies like Spider-Man but also artier pictures, such as Howl, for which he played the homosexual Beat legend Allen Ginsberg. Franco's also appeared on episodes of both 30 Rock and General Hospital. That's when he's not publishing story collections, opening shows at art galleries and pursuing an MFA in writing at Columbia University.
Franco has become such a notorious multi-tasker that New York magazine put him on a July cover with the headline: "Is James Franco for Real?"
More and more the answer to that question seems to be: maybe?
U.S. & World
Selected Reading: PopEater, The Huffington Post, New York Magazine.
