James Franco Talks Getting Into Character for ‘I Am Michael,’ ’90s Fashion and Best Picture Oscar Winner (Video)

The multihyphenate star and his director Justin Kelly tell TheWrap about their collaborative process during filming

| February 12, 2015 @ 2:00 PM Last Updated: February 12, 2015 @ 2:02 PM

James Franco plays Michael Glatze, a gay activist who turns toward God and wages war against his own homosexuality in “I Am Michael,” a new film from director Justin Kelly. When the actor spoke to TheWrap over the weekend at the Berlin Film Festival, he revealed how his director was integral to helping him get into character.

“I’ve become an actor who likes to work very, very closely with my directors,” he told TheWrap during an interview alongside Kelly. “I really view my characters as our characters. I want every character I do to be a collaboration with my director, and on this film it certainly was.”

Also Read: Sundance 2015’s Scene and Heard: James Franco, Ethan Hawke, Hailee Steinfeld and Nicole Kidman (Photos)

“I Am Michael” is adapted from a New York Times Magazine article called “Gay No More: The Story of Michael Glatze.” Zachary Quinto, Emma Roberts and Charlie Carver co-star in the 1990s-set film, as Franco’s past and current lovers.

When asked to pick his favorite 90s-era wardrobe, Franco admitted that some of the clothes he wore onscreen for “I Am Michael” didn’t necessarily align with his personal tastes.

“Sometimes I’ll take clothes from movies I work on, if there’s a piece of the wardrobe I really like I’ll ask for it. But on this movie I don’t think I took anything,” he laughed.

“He was like, ‘Am I really going to wear this?'” Kelly said.

After chatting about “I Am Michael,” the actor and director were asked to turn their sights toward this year’s Best Picture Oscar race. The two were asked to predict who they thought would win.

“Either ‘Boyhood’ or ‘Birdman,'” Franco said.

The filmmakers also played coyed when teasing their next top secret collaboration: “[The project is] very controversial, very exciting, very commercial,” Franco revealed.

Also Read: James Franco Talks Frustrations With Traditional Filmmaking, Benefits of Going Independent

Watch the interview.

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