James Franco is kind of a polarizing figure in Hollywood. Some love him, some hate him. I am not a huge fan of him as a person but I like some of his work. I thought he was a great part of the ensemble cast of HBO’s The Deuce, which recently got picked up for a second season.

The 39-year-old actor is on the cover of the latest issue of Variety, promoting his upcoming film The Disaster Artist. In the interview, he covers a wide array of topics, including his disastrous performance as co-host of the 2011 Oscars (with Anne Hathaway), slowing down his busy working schedule and taking a break from social media – especially when people still haven’t forgotten the time back in 2014 when he hit on a 17-year-old girl on Instagram.

In the interview, he reflects on his life and career, leading up to his 40th birthday and states, “I have achieved all the things that I dreamed when I was younger. And realizing, ‘Oh, those things are not going to fill the hole.’” He also shared his midlife motto of sorts, “Do fewer things, and do things that you really love, and give them the attention they deserve.” Here are some more highlights:

On his “constant state of frenzy”
“It was a defense mechanism. If I do a lot of things and one of them comes out and people don’t like it, I’m already on to the next thing. I’m not even listening to the criticism. But it’s also an escape. If I kept myself busy, I never had to look at myself or my life.”

On ending his workaholic ways:
“I wanted to stop going out there and doing these indies on my own, where I was the complete master and nobody was telling me no.”

On “the real James Franco”:
“My public persona is this weird part of me, but not part of me. Other outlets use it to sell magazines. Why can’t I have fun with it? On the other hand, it becomes you. There was a period 10 years ago that I wasn’t the James Franco that everyone suddenly knew, doing all these things. It’s almost like the mask gets fused to your face. That mask of fame sort of gets stuck on your face whether you’re being facetious or being serious. It’s a hard thing to talk about because you start sounding like a douche.”

On quitting social media:
“It’s very liberating. I just got rid of it. When I first got on, it just felt silly. I treated it like it was a joke. You get in that weird seductive space where it feels private, but it’s also public. And you get hooked on the reaction. I was testing the bounds. It’s sort of the way I see people like the Kardashians. They are staking out new ground and what these spaces are. They are making a lot of money off of it. What will happen if I do that? And you get reactions. There was some photo I did. I wasn’t naked. I’m sure Rihanna has posted a bunch more risqué photos. It was just the attitude of the photo. It was sweaty. My hand was in my boxers. It just looked gross. And I remember Gucci” — which had an endorsement deal with him — “saying, ‘Don’t do any more photos like that.’”

On that Oscar hosting gig:
“I mean, I shouldn’t have been doing it. Honestly, I think the biggest criticism of me, it seemed like I was high or low energy. In my head, I was trying to be the straight man. I guess I just went too far or came across as the dead man.”

[From Variety]

After reading this interview, which is actually worth a read, it hasn’t really changed my opinion of James. Having just recently been introduced to the camp classic that is The Room, I would see The Disaster Artist whether or not James was in it. And, if the story about the making of the movie wasn’t enough to get me into the theater, there’s also a post-credits scene where James acts alongside Room writer/director/star Tommy Wiseau. That little gem is almost worth the price of admission on its own. All I know is I am positive of where I’ll be on December 1.

Photos: WENN.com